Christian_Santos

Christian Santos

Christian Santos

Venezuelan footballer (born 1988)

Christian Robert Santos Freire (born 24 March 1988) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a forward for Arenteiro.[1]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Santos and the second or maternal family name is Freire.
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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]

Colo-Colo

In September 2021, Santos joined Colo-Colo in the Chilean Primera División. In June 2022, he ended his contract after making thirteen appearances and scoring a goal.[15]

Juve Stabia

On 12 October 2022, Santos signed with Juve Stabia in the Italian third-tier Serie C until the end of the 2022–23 season.[16]

Unionistas

On 1 February 2023, Santos joined Unionistas in the Spanish third-tier Primera Federación.[17]

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.[18] He scored his first international goal on 13 October, but in a 3–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers loss against Brazil.[19]

Santos was also included in Rafael Dudamel's 23-man list ahead of the Copa America Centenario.[20] His first and only appearance of the tournament occurred on 13 June 2016, in a 1–1 draw against Mexico.[21]

International goals

Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Santos goal.[22]
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Honours

NEC

References

  1. [1]
    Christian Santos at WorldFootball.net
  2. [2]
    "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.
  3. [3]
    "Waasland-Beveren vindt versterking bij Eupen" [Waasland-Beveren find reinforcement at Eupen] (in Dutch). Sporza. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  4. [4]
    "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.
  5. [5]
    "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.
  6. [6]
    "NEC overtuigt tegen Volendam" [NEC convince against Volendam] (in Dutch). De Gelderlander. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  7. [7]
    "NEC Nijmegen 1–0 Excelsior: Foor stunner seals all three points". Football Oranje. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  8. [8]
    "NEC Nijmegen 2–0 Heerenveen: Santos double downs Frisians". Football Oranje. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  9. [9]
    "NEC Nijmegen 4–1 ADO Den Haag: Santos double inspires NEC to victory". Football Oranje. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  10. [10]
    "NEC Nijmegen 2–0 De Graafschap: Santos double decides Gelderse derby". Football Oranje. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  11. [11]
    "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.
  12. [12]
    "Al Atleti le sobra el final" [To Atleti the ending is too much] (in Spanish). Marca. 21 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  13. [13]
    "Christian Santos, nuevo jugador del Deportivo" [Christian Santos, new player of Deportivo] (in Spanish). Deportivo La Coruña. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
  14. [14]
    "Neue Nummer 9: Osnabrück holt Christian Santos". kicker (in German). 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  15. [15]
    "Oficial: Colo Colo libera un cupo de extranjero" (in Spanish). AS Chile. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  16. [16]
    "S.S. Juve Stabia, ufficiale l'arrivo di Santos" (in Italian). Juve Stabia. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  17. [17]
    "Christian Santos, nuevo fichaje de Unionistas de Salamanca" (in Spanish). Unionistas. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  18. [18]
    "Venezuela cayó ante Jamaica" [Venezuela fell against Jamaica] (in Spanish). Líder en Deportes. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  19. [19]
    "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.
  20. [20]
    "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.
  21. [21]
    "Copa América: Mexico through as group winners after draw with Venezuela". The Guardian. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
  22. [22]
    "Christian Santos". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 22 August 2016.
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