Alefe Santos

This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Santos and the second or paternal family name is D'Abadia.
Alefe Santos
Personal information
Full nameAlefein Santos D'Abadia[1]
Date of birth1 March 1995
Place of birthSão Paulo, Brazil[2]
Playing positionWinger
Club information
Current team
Derby County
Number31
Youth career
Stoke City
2011–2013Bristol Rovers
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2012–2014Bristol Rovers24(1)
2014–Derby County0(0)
2015Notts County (loan)3(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:38, 1 July 2014 (UTC).
† Appearances (Goals).

Alefein Santos D'Abadia (born 1 March 1995), commonly known as Alefein Santos or Alefe Santos, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a winger for Derby County of the Football League Championship. He is eligible to represent Brazil or England internationally.

Early life

Santos was born in São Paulo before moving to England when he was 12 years old.[3] Santos was educated at Henbury School in Bristol.

Career

Bristol Rovers

Santos began his career at Stoke City[4] as a schoolboy before joining Bristol Rovers on a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2011.[3] The next season, he made his professional debut whilst still considered a youth player on 20 November 2012, in a 4–0 defeat to Port Vale in Football League Two, coming on as a substitute for Fabian Broghammer after 60 minutes.[5]

He signed his professional contract with the club on 23 April 2013. Santos became a regular player in the Bristol Rovers first team in the 2013–14 season, playing 27 matches, including 23 in the league, but his team were relegated to the Football Conference. On 12 October 2013, he scored his only goal for Bristol Rovers, in a 1–1 league draw with Mansfield Town at Field Mill. He came on for Andy Bond after 72 minutes and scored the equaliser 12 minutes later.[6]

Derby County

He signed a two-year contract with the option of a third year at Derby County on 1 July 2014 after turning down a new contract with Bristol Rovers.[3] He had previously been in discussions with Premier League club Hull City.[7] Santos made his Derby debut on 26 August, replacing Johnny Russell for the last 20 minutes of a 1–0 League Cup victory over Charlton Athletic.[8]

Having not made another appearance since his debut, on 9 January 2015 Santos went on a one-month loan to League One club Notts County,[9] and made a total of 3 appearances.

Playing style

Santos describes himself as "a very direct player who likes to run at the full-back and get crosses in and create chances for the team".[9] He stated that he considers football in Brazil to be easier than that of England, due to the physicality of the English game.[9]

Career statistics

As of 3 May 2014[10]
Season Club Division League FA Cup League Cup Football League Trophy Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
2012–13 Bristol Rovers League Two 1000000010
2013–14 Bristol Rovers League Two 231201010271
2014–2015 Derby County Championship 0000100010
Career total 241202010291

References

  1. "Professional retain lists & free transfers 2012/13" (PDF). The Football League. May 2013. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  2. Alefe Santos profile at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Rams move to complete the signing of 19-year-old winger.". Derby County F.C. 1 July 2014.
  4. "Alefe Santos: Bristol Rovers winger receives opposition praise". BBC Sport. 28 October 2013.
  5. "DISAPPOINTING DEFEAT FOR ROVERS". Bristol Rovers F.C. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  6. "Mansfield 1–1 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  7. "Alefe Santos: Hull set to sign Bristol Rovers youngster". BBC Sport. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  8. "Derby 1–0 Charlton". BBC Sport. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Alefe Santos: Notts County sign Derby County winger". BBC Sport. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  10. "Alefe Santos". Soccerbase. Retrieved 27 January 2013.