Álvaro Santos

Football player infobox
playername = Álvaro Santos


fullname = Álvaro márcio Santos
height = 181 cm
nickname = "Verdens flinkeste mand" (The nicest man in the world)
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1980|1|31|mf=y
cityofbirth = São Paulo
countryofbirth = Brazil
currentclub = FC Sochaux
clubnumber = 8
position = Forward
years = 2000
2000–2003
2003–2006
2006-
2007-2008
clubs = América Mineiro FC
Helsingborgs IF
FC København
FC Sochaux
RC Strasbourg "(Loan)"
caps(goals) = 00 0(0)
64 (35)
84 (38)
29 0(8)
15 0(2)
pcupdate = 23:26, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

Álvaro Santos is a Brazilian football forward playing for FC Sochaux of Ligue 1.

Santos began his career at Brazilian side América FC from Belo Horizonte in 2000, before moving to Swedish club Helsingborgs IF for a three years stint. He made an impact immediatly upon his arrival - during his first month in Europe he was instrumental in Helsingborg's elimination of Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League 2000-01's 3rd qualification round. Helsingborg qualified for the Champions League group stage, where Alvaro Santos was a key player. Three years later, his goal record in Sweden's top flight Allsvenskan drew the attention of regular Danish champions FC København.

During his years with Helsingborg, he became a huge favourite among supporters of the club, and his impact at the club is, regarding the years since the club's top flight comeback in 1993, only rivaled by those of Henrik Larsson's and Roland Nilsson's. Many fans actually rank him higher than Henrik Larsson, and in Helsingborg, Santos is nick-named "God".

His three years in Copenhagen were a success, scoring a total of 50 goals in 120 games for the club. At the end of the 2005/2006 season, his last with the Danish champions, he finished second on the top goalscorer list with 15 goals for 33 games. Additionally, his friendly reputation earned him the nickname "Verdens Flinkeste Mand" (lit. “The World's Nicest Man”) by the club's fans.

On July 24, 2006, Santos signed a four year contract with FC Sochaux to take effect on August 1. Before his contract officially began, Santos displayed his impact by scoring in a friendly match against Greek side PAOK FC on July 30.

During the summer of 2008, Santos was linked with a move to the club where he first made an impact in Europe, Helsingborg, as well as Norway's Brann Bergen.

References

* [http://www.rcstrasbourg.fr/equipe1_fiche.php?rub=3&srub=&art=748 Profile at RC Strasbourg's official site]
*pt icon [http://200.159.15.35/registro/registro.aspx?s=00129309 CBF Database]