| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Paulo Maio dos Santos | ||
| Date of birth | November 21, 1970 | ||
| Place of birth | Vila do Conde, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Rio Ave | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1988–1992 | Rio Ave | 82 | (1) |
| 1992–2003 | FC Porto | 205 | (7) |
| National team | |||
| 1994–1999 | Portugal | 30 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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João Paulo Maio dos Santos (born 21 November 1970), aka Paulinho Santos, is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
He spent 11 years of his professional career with Porto, playing in several positions and winning 19 major titles, appearing in more than 300 official games for the club.
Santos represented Portugal at Euro 1996.
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Born in Vila do Conde, Santos started playing with hometown Rio Ave FC, competing two seasons in the second division and one in the third. He moved in 1992 to F.C. Porto, helping the latter (often in an instrumental role) to seven league titles and five domestic cups, having taken over from the player he idolized while growing up, António André - who had also played in his first club.
In Porto, he and four others became the only players in the history of Portuguese football to win five consecutive league titles (1994–1999). When Porto won the 2003 UEFA Cup, Santos was already second-fiddle - five games in his last two seasons combined - and retired at the end of that season.
A player of aggressive approach, Santos often scuffled with Sport Lisboa e Benfica's João Vieira Pinto during his career: As a symbolic gesture, however, they exchanged shirts before Santos' last match, against Sporting Clube de Portugal (where Pinto was then playing), at Estádio das Antas, in June 2003.
Three years later, Santos began a coaching career, spending several years with Porto's various youth sides, mainly as an assistant.
For Portugal, Santos received 30 international caps, scoring two goals (including a solo effort in a 1–1 away draw against Austria on 11 October 1995). His first game was on 19 January 1994 in a 2–2 draw with Spain in Vigo, in a friendly match, and his last came on 10 February 1999, in a 0–0 draw with Holland at the Parc des Princes in Paris, in another friendly.
Santos participated at UEFA Euro 1996, where he played as left back, and missed Euro 2000, due to injury.[1]
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 August 1995 | Sportpark Eschen-Mauren, Eschen, Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | 0–2 | 0–7 | Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 2 | 11 October 1995 | Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria | Austria | 1–1 | 1–1 | Euro 1996 qualifying |
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