Christian Santos

Christian Robert Santos Freire (born 24 March 1988) is a Venezuelan professional footballer who plays as a striker for German club VfL Osnabrück.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Santos and the second or maternal family name is Freire.
Christian Santos
Personal information
Full name Christian Robert Santos Freire
Date of birth (1988-03-24) 24 March 1988
Place of birth Ciudad Guayana, Venezuela
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 VfL Osnabrück
Number 9
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- VfL Osnabrück 14 (3)
National team‡
2015– Venezuela 13 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:51, 30 January 2021 (UTC).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 02:44, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

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.[1] 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,[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]

Santos added another doubles against ADO Den Haag (4–1 home win)[8] and De Graafschap (2–0 home win),[9] 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.[10] He made his debut in the league on 21 August, replacing Gaizka Toquero in a 1–1 away draw against Atlético Madrid.[11]

Deportivo La Coruña

On 28 June 2018, Santos signed a two-year deal with Deportivo de La Coruña, after cutting ties with Alavés.[12] 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.[13]

International career

After being allowed to play for Venezuela in January 2015,[1] Santos made his full international debut on 27 March of that year, starting and being booked in a 2–1 friendly loss against Jamaica.[14] He scored his first international goal on 13 October, but in a 3–1 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers loss against Brazil.[15]

Santos was also included in Rafael Dudamel's 23-man list ahead of the Copa America Centenario.[16] His first and only appearance of the tournament occurred on 13 June 2016, in a 1–1 draw against Mexico.[17]

International goals
Scores and results list Venezuela's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Santos goal.[18]
List of international goals scored by Christian Santos
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
113 October 2015Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil Brazil1–21–32018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers

Honours

NEC

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