Diogo Luís Santo

Diogo
Personal information
Full name Diogo Luís Santo
Date of birth (1987-05-26) 26 May 1987
Place of birth São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Buriram United
Number 40
Youth career
2004–2005 Atlético Mineiro
2005 Portuguesa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005–2008 Portuguesa 41 (24)
2008–2012 Olympiacos 51 (9)
2010 → Flamengo (loan) 17 (1)
2011 → Santos (loan) 11 (1)
2013–2014 Portuguesa 20 (4)
2014 Palmeiras 24 (1)
2015– Buriram United 32 (33)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 December 2015.

† Appearances (goals)

Diogo Luís Santo (born 26 May 1987), known simply as Diogo, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Thai club Buriram United F.C. as a striker.

Club career

Brazil

Born in São Paulo, Diogo started his football career at Associação Portuguesa de Desportos. He quickly made an impressive name for himself at the club, breaking into the first team in 2007 and largely contributing to the second division team's promotion to the Série A, scoring 18 goals in 28 games – season's best – and being voted the competition's best player.

It was this form which initially prompted Brazilian under-20 coach Nélson Rodrigues to include Diogo in his team (he had already played in previous national youth sides). In 2008 he had his first taste of top-flight football with Portuguesa, and showed early good form with six goals in 13 matches.[1] Early in the same year, club president Manuel da Lupa said he was as good as if not better than A.C. Milan’s teenage sensation Alexandre Pato; he added that Diogo had only shown 50% of his capability due to consistent injuries.[2]

In July 2008, several teams had been attracted to Diogo's talents, and the player revealed his desire to play his trade in Europe after longtime admirers Arsenal were joined by ACF Fiorentina in bidding for his services. He had been monitored by the former's scouting department for more than two years, and offers included a £9,000,000 one, promptly rejected by Portuguesa;[3] Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger also publicly stated that he had tried to sign him once, as a 16-year-old.[4]

Olympiakos

Olympiacos F.C. also became interested and, in a widely-documented and somewhat controversial period of negotiation, Diogo finally signed for the Greek club in August 2008, for €9 million and 70% of the player's rights.[5] Arriving in Athens on the 19th he passed his medical the following day and, on 21 August, signed a five-year contract.

Diogo made his first appearance in the season's opener, against Asteras Tripoli F.C. on 30 August 2008. On 6 September he scored from the penalty spot against Ionikos FC, in a friendly match.

In the second round, Diogo netted the game's only goal at Skoda Xanthi FC. During his first campaign he also showcased his good heading ability, scoring many of his goals from headers. At one point, he was the player with more goals with that specific body part, at four.

In the 2008–09 UEFA Cup Diogo scored twice in the 5–0 home triumph against FC Nordsjælland on 2 October, adding two more in a 5–1 home win over S.L. Benfica in the following month, also in the group stage.[6] Hence, heightened rumours of a big-money transfer to Europe's elite – and again to England – surfaced, whilst the player was ranked 7th (out of 50) in The Daily Telegraph's list of Footballers Transfer Target List;[7] eventually, the Piraeus team won the double.

In October 2008 further interest arose, now from three other Premier League outfits, Middlesbrough, Chelsea and Liverpool.[8] The latter's coach, Rafa Benítez, again declared interest in the player in March of the following year, preparing to offer £12 million to acquire his services.[9] Anfield scouts had been said to have checked on the 21-year-old, seeing him as a perfect replacement for departed Robbie Keane; Benítez then loaned Sebastián Leto to Olympiacos, further fueling rumours that the player would be included in a swap deal, but nothing came to fruition, with Leto instead moving to Panathinaikos FC.[10]

Diogo's second season at Olympiacos was disastrous for both him and the team, suffering several injuries which limited to just slightly more than half of the games, scoring just two goals and losing his place in the starting lineup to Kostantinos Mitroglou. He started 2010–11 by netting twice against Besa Kavajë of Albania in a 5–0 away win (11–1 on aggregate) for the UEFA Europa League; however, in the competition's next round, against Maccabi Tel Aviv FC, he was sent off after punching opposing goalkeeper Liran Strauber, in a 0–1 away loss that also meant the Greeks' elimination on the away goals rule.[11]

Back to Brazil

On 18 August 2010 Diogo returned to Brazil, being loaned to Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. Six months later he joined Santos FC in the same predicament, failing to perform overall and returning to Olympiakos in January 2012, being excluded from the first team late into that year.

On 6 March 2013, Diogo returned to his first club Portuguesa.[12]

Buriram United

On 31 December 2014, Diogo signed a two-year contract with Buriram United F.C. from the Thai Premier League.[13] He scored in his debut on 24 January 2015, helping his new team defeat Bangkok Glass F.C. 1–0 in the Kor Royal Cup.[14]

In his first season, Diogo scored 45 goals in 51 games all competitions comprised,[15] helping Buriram become the first Asian club to win five titles in one year.[16][17]

Club statistics

As of 19 February 2016[18]
Club Season Brazilian League Brazilian Cup State League South America — Total
AppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoals
Portuguesa 2006 211000000—211
2007 2718304900—3127
2008 136200000—156
Subtotal 61 25 5 0 4 9 0 0 — 67 34
Club Season Greek League Greek Cup — Europe Other Total
AppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoals
Olympiacos 2008–09 28675—85004216
2009–10 17200—5100223
2010–11 0000—420042
2011–12 9121—1000122
2012–13 1000—000010
Subtotal 55 9 9 6 — 18 8 0 0 81 23
Club Season Brazilian League Brazilian Cup State League South America Club World Cup Total
AppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoals
Flamengo 2010 171————171
Santos 2011 111—603000201
Portuguesa 2013 20420—00—224
Palmeiras 2014 241406000—341
Subtotal 72 7 6 0 12 0 3 0 0 0 93 7
Club Season Thai League Thai FA Cup Thai League Cup Asia Kor Royal Cup Total
AppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoalsAppGoals
Buriram United 2015 3233636464115145
2016 000000101121
Subtotal 32 33 5 3 6 4 7 4 2 2 52 46

Honours

Club

Olympiacos
Santos
Buriram united

Individual

References

  1. ↑ GOAL.com profile
  2. ↑ Diogo Luis Santo 2 sign??; BBC, 16 March 2008
  3. ↑ Gunners' Diogo bid rejected; GOAL.com, 20 June 2008
  4. ↑ Arsenal close in on a deal for Brazilian striker Diogo; Young Guns
  5. ↑ Olympiacos rewarded as Diogo signs; UEFA.com, 22 August 2008
  6. ↑ Greek warriors put foes to the sword; ESPN Soccernet, 27 November 2008
  7. ↑ Football transfers: Top 50 alternative European transfer targets; The Daily Telegraph, 9 July 2009
  8. ↑ Premier clubs eye Diogo; Sky Sports, 4 October 2008
  9. ↑ Sunday's gossip column; BBC Sport, 1 March 2009
  10. ↑ Liverpool boss Benitez targets Olympiacos ace Diogo; Tribal Football, 3 March 2009
  11. ↑ Maccabi Tel-Aviv stun Olympiacos; UEFA.com, 5 August 2010
  12. ↑ "Portuguesa anuncia retorno do 'prata da casa' Diogo após cinco anos" [Portuguesa announces 'homegrown' Diogo's return after five years] (in Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Diogo sai com 1 gol em 34 jogos e atuará na Tailândia" [Diogo leaves with 1 goal in 34 games and will ply his trade in Thailand] (in Portuguese). Terra. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  14. ↑ "ซานโตส่องชัย!ปราสาทเชือดบีจี1-0ซิวแชมป์ถ้วยก" [Santo shines in victory! Buriram slaughter Glass in 1–0 Cup win] (in Thai). Siam Sport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Buriram's season to remember". Buriram Times. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "The unrelenting rise of Buriram United". These Football Times. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  17. ↑ "Buriram win fifth Thai FA Cup title after downing Muangthong 3–0". The Phuket News. 27 December 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Diogo". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 March 2015.

External links


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