Álvaro Santos

Álvaro

Personal information
Full name	Álvaro Márcio Santos
Date of birth	(1980-01-30) 30 January 1980
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Helsingborgs IF
Number	10
Youth career
	América-MG
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1999–2000	América-MG
2000–2003	Helsingborgs IF	64	(35)
2003–2006	Copenhagen	120	(50)
2006–2009	Sochaux	35	(8)
2007–2008	→ Strasbourg (loan)	28	(5)
2009–2011	Örgryte IS	41	(17)
2011	→ GAIS (loan)	16	(6)
2011–	Helsingborgs IF	10	(1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11:54, 22 April 2012 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Álvaro Santos (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈawvaɾu ˈsɐ̃ⁿtuʃ]; born 30 January 1980 in São Paulo), simply known as Álvaro, is a Brazilian football forward currently playing for Swedish Allsvenskan club Helsingborgs IF.

Career

Santos began his career at Brazilian side América Mineiro from Belo Horizonte in 2000, before moving to Swedish club Helsingborgs IF for a three years stint. He made an impact immediately 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 nicknamed "God".^{[citation needed]}

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. On 2 February 2009 the Brazilian striker has terminated his contract with Sochaux in agreement with the French team.

On February 9, 2009, it was official that Álvaro Santos has signed a three year contract with the Swedish club Örgryte IS. He played with his former teammate Marcus Allbäck. After the end of the 2010 Allsvenskan season he stated that he did not want to continue with Örgryte IS in Superettan. He stated that despite the relegation he felt like he was in good shape and that he wanted to return to playing in Denmark. However, he was instead loaned out to GAIS, another Gothenburg club, and later in 2011 sold to Helsingborgs IF, completing the circle, as he returned to the club where he started his European career, to much surprise and joy among the fans who still love him after his first session at the club

References

Awards
Preceded by Peter Nielsen	F.C. Copenhagen Player of the Year 2004	Succeeded by Hjalte Nørregaard