Christian Santos
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Christian Robert Santos Freire | ||
Date of birth | 24 March 1988 | ||
Place of birth | Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela | ||
Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
SV Lippstadt 08 | |||
2003–2007 | Arminia Bielefeld | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2008–2011 | Arminia Bielefeld II | 78 | (28) |
2011–2013 | Eupen | 58 | (25) |
2013–2014 | Waasland-Beveren | 0 | (0) |
2014–2016 | NEC | 71 | (43) |
2016–2018 | Alavés | 31 | (5) |
2018–2020 | Deportivo La Coruña | 48 | (9) |
2020–2021 | VfL Osnabrück | 29 | (8) |
International career‡ | |||
2015– | Venezuela | 13 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 August 2021. ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:44, 14 September 2018 (UTC) |
Christian Robert Santos Freire (born 24 March 1988) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a striker. He is currently without a club.[1]
Club career
Early career
Born in Ciudad Guayana, Bolívar, Santos moved to Germany at the age of six as his father received a new job in the country.[2] After starting his career at SV Lippstadt 08 he moved to Arminia Bielefeld in 2003, and made his senior debut for the latter's reserve team on 6 May 2007, coming on as a late substitute in a 3–0 Oberliga Westfalen home win against Sportfreunde Lotte.
Santos scored his first senior goal on 1 April 2009, netting his team's second in a 3–1 away win against Delbrücker SC. After failed to make a single appearance with the first team, he left the club in 2011.
Belgium
On 9 August 2011, Santos signed for KAS Eupen in the Belgian Second Division. He scored a 15 goals during his first season, and added a further ten in his second.
In April 2013, Santos moved to Belgian Pro League club Waasland-Beveren,[3] but failed to appear in a single match due to a severe knee injury.
NEC
In July 2014, Santos signed a one-year contract with Dutch Eerste Divisie side NEC Nijmegen, after impressing on a trial basis.[4][5] He made his professional debut on 10 August, starting in a 3–1 home win against FC Eindhoven.
Santos scored his first professional goal on 15 August 2014, netting the last in a 2–0 win at FC Volendam.[6] He finished the campaign with 23 goals in only 34 appearances, as his side achieved promotion to Eredivisie as champions; highlights included braces against FC Den Bosch, MVV Maastricht and FC Oss.
Santos made his debut in the main category of Dutch football on 12 August 2015, starting in a 1–0 home win against SBV Excelsior.[7] He scored his first goals in the division on 18 September, netting all his team's goals in a 2–0 success over SC Heerenveen.[8]
Santos added another doubles against ADO Den Haag (4–1 home win)[9] and De Graafschap (2–0 home win),[10] totalling 16 goals in 30 matches.
Alavés
On 12 July 2016, free agent Santos signed a three-year deal with Deportivo Alavés, newly promoted to La Liga.[11] He made his debut in the league on 21 August, replacing Gaizka Toquero in a 1–1 away draw against Atlético Madrid.[12]
Deportivo La Coruña
On 28 June 2018, Santos signed a two-year deal with Deportivo de La Coruña, after cutting ties with Alavés.[13] He scored his first goal in an away match against Gimnàstic de Tarragona on 1 October 2018, one minute after entering as a substitute in 85th minute. On 27 January 2019, he scored a decisive goal in 2–1 away victory against Sporting de Gijón. On 18 August 2019, he scored a decisive goal in 88th minute after coming from the bench three minutes earlier in a 3–2 victory against Real Oviedo.
VfL Osnabrück
In September 2020, Santos returned to Germany joining 2. Bundesliga club VfL Osnabrück on a two-year contract.[14]
International career
After being allowed to play for Venezuela in January 2015,[2] Santos made his full international debut on 27 March of that year, starting and being booked in a 2–1 friendly loss against Jamaica.[15] He scored his first international goal on 13 October, but in a 3–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers loss against Brazil.[16]
Santos was also included in Rafael Dudamel's 23-man list ahead of the Copa America Centenario.[17] His first and only appearance of the tournament occurred on 13 June 2016, in a 1–1 draw against Mexico.[18]
International goals
- Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Santos goal.[19]
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13 October 2015 | Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil | Brazil | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers |
Honours
NEC
References
- ^ "Christian Santos". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Christian Santos: "Yo me siento venezolano"" [Christian Santos: "I feel Venezuelan"] (in Spanish). Primicia. 29 January 2015. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Waasland-Beveren vindt versterking bij Eupen" [Waasland-Beveren find reinforcement at Eupen] (in Dutch). Sporza. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "NEC ook rond met Appiah en Santos" [NEC also around with Appiah and Santos] (in Dutch). De Gelderlander. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "N.E.C. versterkt selectie met drie spelers" [N.E.C. squad reinforced with three players] (in Dutch). NEC Nijmegen. 26 July 2014. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "NEC overtuigt tegen Volendam" [NEC convince against Volendam] (in Dutch). De Gelderlander. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "NEC Nijmegen 1–0 Excelsior: Foor stunner seals all three points". Football Oranje. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "NEC Nijmegen 2–0 Heerenveen: Santos double downs Frisians". Football Oranje. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "NEC Nijmegen 4–1 ADO Den Haag: Santos double inspires NEC to victory". Football Oranje. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "NEC Nijmegen 2–0 De Graafschap: Santos double decides Gelderse derby". Football Oranje. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Christian Santos, el nuevo goleador albiazul" [Christian Santos, the new blue-and-white goalscorer] (in Spanish). Deportivo Alavés. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Al Atleti le sobra el final" [To Atleti the ending is too much] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
- ^ "Christian Santos, nuevo jugador del Deportivo" [Christian Santos, new player of Deportivo] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Neue Nummer 9: Osnabrück holt Christian Santos". kicker (in German). 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ "Venezuela cayó ante Jamaica" [Venezuela fell against Jamaica] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Rei Willian resolve, acalma o Castelão, e Seleção derrota a Venezuela" [King William solves it, calms down the Castelão, and Seleção defeat Venezuela] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Vinotinto: Estos son los 23 convocados por Rafael Dudamel para la Copa América Centenario" [Vinotinto: These are the 23 called up by Rafael Dudamel for the Copa América Centenario] (in Spanish). Diario Panorama. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Copa América: Mexico through as group winners after draw with Venezuela". The Guardian. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
- ^ "Christian Santos". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
External links
- Christian Santos at BDFutbol
- Christian Santos at National-Football-Teams.com
- Christian Santos profile at Voetbal International (in Dutch)
- Christian Santos at Soccerway
- 1988 births
- Living people
- People from Bolívar (state)
- German people of Venezuelan descent
- Venezuelan footballers
- German footballers
- Association football forwards
- Arminia Bielefeld players
- Belgian First Division A players
- K.A.S. Eupen players
- Waasland-Beveren players
- Eredivisie players
- Eerste Divisie players
- NEC Nijmegen players
- La Liga players
- Segunda División players
- Deportivo Alavés players
- Deportivo de La Coruña players
- 2. Bundesliga players
- VfL Osnabrück players
- Copa América Centenario players
- Venezuela international footballers
- Venezuelan expatriate footballers
- German expatriate footballers
- German expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Germany
- Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
- Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Spain
- Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
- Expatriate footballers in Germany
- Expatriate footballers in Belgium
- Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands
- Expatriate footballers in Spain