Player Details. Name Giovani dos Santos. Height 5' 9". Weight lbs. Date of Birth 5. Birthplace Monterrey, Mexico. Position Midfielder. Position Detail Attacking Midfielder. Footedness Left. Latest News. Jonathan dos Santos: Galaxy's buyout of Gio brings "difficult times" to fam. More News. Latest Video. Top 5 goals scored by Mexicans in MLS pres. Minnesota United FC August 11, As he once again begins hunting for a job after the LA Galaxy cut him lose, one can't help but wonder why he never could harness his full potential.
How did this player, who already was in Barcelona's famed La Masia academy when he won the Silver Ball at the U World Championship in Peru by helping Mexico to the title, not break through? Dos Santos never found any consistency in Europe. After a year in the first team with Barcelona, he played in the Premier League, the Championship, the Turkish Super Lig and three different Spanish teams before, at age 26, he decided to return to North America.
His future now is in the balance after being deemed surplus with the Galaxy. Whether that lack of consistency early on was his fault or the European clubs' is up for some debate. It's difficult to find a place for a player on the field when you're not sure where to put him. Dos Santos plays best as a second striker, but many of his clubs have needed something else out of him. That has led to time as a playmaker, where there are moments of magic but infrequent chance creation, as an inverted winger, where Dos Santos often floats too far inside to look for the ball or to set up a chance for himself, or with the left-footer playing in his natural profile on the left side, where he often fails to make an impact.
The positioning issue dogged him with the Galaxy as well. He was electric in , scoring 14 goals and dishing out 12 assists. Last season, between injuries and time away on international duty, Gio ended up with only minutes on the field, scoring three goals and notching two assists in 14 appearances. Former Barca boss Frank Rijkaard actually gave Dos Santos opportunities, with the year-old playing more than 1, La Liga minutes for the Blaugrana in It was there that the positional issues first emerged, with Gio too often looking to come inside to space where Lionel Messi already was operating.
Ultimately, Dos Santos was outdone by Bojan Krkic. Dos Santos' fellow academy graduate set a club record with 10 goals in his debut season with the first team, making Dos Santos expendable.
He arrived the same summer as Luka Modric, moving out of Bojan's shadow but into the one of a player who would eventually be named The Best. Another potential derailment had emerged at Barcelona. Dos Santos' commitment to the sport often has come into question. Deserved or not, Dos Santos had a reputation for enjoying the nightlife wherever he played.
Paparazzi in Barcelona and London snapped shots of him at nightclubs, and the party-boy label has stuck. After he went for a header that Agustin Marchesin claimed in the first leg of a Concacaf Champions League match, the then-Santos Laguna goalkeeper called Dos Santos a drunk and gestured as though he was drinking from a bottle. That prompted fans in Torreon to chant "Drunk" at Dos Santos in the return match. His motivation often has been questioned.
Between the partying and the decision to go to MLS rather than continuing on with Villarreal, Mexican fans held a very high standard for Dos Santos that he never was able to reach.
0コメント