Giovanni Dos Santos - Forward - #734

Dos Santos began his football career at a very young age, being recruited by Spanish club Barcelona and played for their B team until age 18. He made his way up the ranks, eventually playing for the senior squad, making his debut in 2007. That year, he was named by World Soccer Magazine as one of the "Top 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers". After playing one season, Dos Santos was transferred to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 in search for more playing time. Though he would stay with the club until 2012, his time there was mostly spent away on loan, at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray and Racing de Santander, with varying degrees of success.

On 18 June 2008, Dos Santos passed a medical and agreed terms to complete his move to Tottenham from Barcelona. Barcelona reported that the transfer fee was €6 million with an additional €5 million payable depending on appearances for Tottenham.

Dos Santos was on target twice as Tottenham beat UD Tavernes in 8–0 on their 2008–09 pre-season tour. He also scored the second goal in the 3–0 win over Borussia Dortmund to help Spurs to make it two wins out of two and take home the Feyenoord Jubileum Tournament trophy. He scored his first competitive goal for Spurs in the UEFA Cup on 26 February 2009 against Shakhtar Donetsk. After 12 first team appearances, he was sent on loan to Ipswich Town for the remainder of the season.

Dos Santos returned to Tottenham at the start of the 2009–10 season and his first game of the season came against Doncaster Rovers in the League Cup, in which he provided an assist. He was substituted off, however, due to an ankle injury early on in a League Cup game against Preston North End and managed to make only a substitute appearance in a 1–0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Dos Santos' commitment was questioned by then Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, who warned him to stay away from nightclubs and revealed that he was often late for training on Mondays. Harry Redknapp was once quoted saying of the Mexican's professionalism, "If he could pass a night club as well as he could pass a ball, he'd be all right."

Spurs have consistently expressed that Dos Santos' lack of discipline does not fit well with the club's vision, nor with English football in general.

A quick, skillful and creative player, Dos Santos was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He was usually deployed as a winger or as an attacking midfielder, and has even been used as a supporting striker. A technically gifted playmaker who possesses great flair and dribbling skills, he was described as a "clever" and "sharp" player who had the capacity to both score goals and create chances for teammates. As a youngster, he drew attention to himself as a precocious talent, and in 2010 he was named by Don Balón as one of the 100 best young players in the world born after 1989.

He had a couple of good stints in his career but he never fulfilled the promise.

The memory of that 16-year-old kid lifting a World Cup trophy in Peru is gone. This is another promising story that never fulfilled. A talented lad who joined Barcelona in 2002 and made his debut at age 18, but never exploited his talent.

Mismanagement by his parent/agent, Zizinho, and the excesses turned Gio’s career into uncertainty. He was like a golden boat without course, just following the waves hoping to find the shore.

Dos Santos will be another empty name in football. He will be remembered as an illusion — a player that we wanted to witness, but never became a reality.

He retired in 2021 after being released by Club América.

Career statistics

Games played: 481, Goals scored: 96

Spurs statistics

Games played: 33, Goals scored: 3