Giovani dos Santos Ramírez was born on the 11th of May 1989 in Monterray, Mexico, the son of former Brazilian footballer Zizinho, and at the age of 13 joined Barcelona's academy of La Masia. He played for Barcelona's Juvenil A category, where he helped his team to make a comeback in the league and win the regional title. This title allowed them to participate in the Youth Copa del Rey where they faced other regional champions, among them their historic arch-rivals, Real Madrid. Once more he played a significant role during the tournament and helped the team win the national title of the Juvenil A category. In 2006 he was invited on the pre-season tour of Barcelona's senior squad and during a friendly match on the 29th of July 2006, he scored in his senior team debut game against Danish club AGF Aarhus. On the 28th of November 2006, Barcelona included him in their 23-man squad for the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan. During mid-2007 he was once again invited to join Barcelona's senior squad on their pre-season tour and on the 29th of August 2007, he received dual nationality and was included in the official first team squad. Making his competitive and league debut on the 2nd of September 2007 (at 18 years and 114 days), during a 3–1 home win against Athletic Bilbao, he came on for Thierry Henry in the 62nd minute. Coming on as a substitute for Xavi in the 79th minute, he made his UEFA Champions League debut on the 20th of September 2007 during a 3–0 home win against Lyon That year, he was named by World Soccer Magazine as one of the "Top 50 Most Exciting Teen Footballers."
As a youngster, and as a precocious talent, in 2010 he was named by the Spanish weekly sports magazine, Don Balón, as one of the 100 best young players in the world born after 1989. A versatile forward who featured as an attacking midfielder, winger or striker, he was a talent of precocious flair, capable of scoring great goals and setting them up for others. The problem was that he was competing for the same position as Lionel Messi – a battle he was never going to win – while another La Masia graduate, Bojan Krkic, made a more explosive impact with 10 goals in his debut season, making the Mexican the more expendable of the pair. It was no surprise then when, on the 18th of June 2008, Dos Santos passed a medical and agreed terms to complete his move to Tottenham from Barcelona for a reported transfer fee of €6 million with an additional €5 million payable depending on appearances. However at Spurs he failed to fit in and spent most of his time out on loan, with Ipswich, Galatasaray and Real Santander and he was hampered by Tottenham sacking the manager who signed him, Juande Ramos, in October 2008, after an awful start to the campaign. The Spaniard was replaced by Harry Redknapp, who did not fancy Dos Santos at all, even going so far as to publicly castigate the youngster for partying too often and turning up late to training. Telling the Daily Star in 2010, "If he could pass a nightclub as well as he can pass a ball, he would be all right." Eventually Giovani moved back to Spain with Mallorca in 2012 on a free transfer and found his feet, impressing in top-scoring form for the relegated club with six goals in 32 appearances. This upturn in form earned him a move on to Villarreal, where he finally found regular top-level game time, playing back to back seasons at the same club at senior level, something he had never done before. He then surprised many Mexico fans, who were hoping he was about to embark upon a great renaissance in Europe, by joining LA Galaxy at the age of 26. Nevertheless, his form continued to improve to such an extent that he was longlisted for the 2015 Ballon d'Or, one of only two MLS players to be so, alongside Andrea Pirlo at NYCFC. On the 1st of March 2019, LA Galaxy announced they had exercised its one off season buyout of a guaranteed contract on dos Santos, thus releasing him from the team. He then joined Club America in the same year but after failing to make an impact at the club, mainly due to injuries, on the 15th of June 2021 he parted ways with them.
Giovani dos Santos was considered to be a player who disappointed the fans, a striker who was very talented but was criticized by fans and journalists alike for not being a great professional, and someone who missed training far too often.
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/08/footballs-nearly-men-ryan-babel.html
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