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)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Helsingborgs IF
Number	10
Youth career
	América-MG
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1999–2000	América-MG	0	(0)
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)
2011–2014	Helsingborgs IF	67	(10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11:54, 22 April 2012 (UTC)

Álvaro Santos (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈawvaɾu ˈsɐ̃ⁿtuʃ]; born 30 January 1980 in São Paulo), simply known as Álvaro, is a former Brazilian football forward who last played 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 2000–01 UEFA Champions League's third 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.

Santos playing for Helsingborgs IF

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".

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 24 July 2006, Santos signed a four-year contract with FC Sochaux to take effect on 1 August. Before his contract officially began, Santos displayed his impact by scoring in a friendly match against Greek side PAOK FC on 30 July. On 2 February 2009 the Brazilian striker has terminated his contract with Sochaux in agreement with the French team.

On 9 February 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.

In 2014 he retired from football and moved back to his native Brazil.