Álvaro Santos

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Álvaro Santos
Personal information
Full name	Álvaro márcio Santos
Date of birth	January 31, 1980 (1980-01-31) (age 29)
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	ft 0 in (0.00 m)
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Örgryte IS
Number	18
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
-2000 2000–2003 2003–2006 2006-2008 2007-2008 2009-	América Mineiro Helsingborgs IF FC København FC Sochaux → RC Strasbourg (loan) Örgryte IS	00 0(0) 64 0(35) 120 0(50) 29 0(8) 15 0(2) 15 00(10)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:26, 12 January 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Álvaro Santos (born January 31, 1980) is a Brazilian football forward is playing for Örgryte IS of Allsvenskan.

[edit] 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 nick-named "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^[1].

On February 9, 2009, it was official that Álvaro Santos has signed a three year contract with the Swedish club Örgryte IS. He will play with his former teammate Marcus Allbäck.

[edit] References

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