Leonardo Santiago

Leonardo
Personal information
Full name Leonardo de Vitor Santiago
Date of birth (1983-03-09) 9 March 1983
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Winger
Youth career
Nova Safra
1995–2000 Feyenoord
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2000–2005 Feyenoord 55 (4)
2006 NAC Breda 31 (10)
2007–2009 Ajax 40 (5)
2009–2012 NAC Breda 42 (6)
2011–2012 → Red Bull Salzburg (loan) 30 (4)
2013–2014 Ferencváros 23 (7)
2014 1860 Munich 8 (2)
2015–2016 Newcastle Jets 20 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 03 April 2016.


Leonardo Vitor Santiago (born 9 March 1983), commonly known as Leonardo, is a Brazilian footballer who last played as a winger or playmaker for the Newcastle Jets FC in the Australian A-League. Leonardo is a former U-20 Brazilian international.

Career

Club career

Nova Safra

Leonardo started at the Nova Safra football school in Rio de Janeiro and was raised in the Jacarezinho neighbourhood, which is also the area where Romário spent his early years. In 1994, at the age of 11 Leonard's football talent was discovered by Jos de Putter who directed the documentary "Solo, de wet van de favela" about him and another young player, Anselmo, from the slums of Rio de Janeiro.[1] The documentary focuses on how football plays a significant role in getting young people out of the hopeless living conditions that many young inhabitants of the slums live everyday.[2]

Feyenoord Rotterdam

Following the attention the film brought Leonardo, he moved to Rotterdam to play in Feyenoord's youth academy setup at Varkenoord.[3] Leonardo made his debut for Feyenoord on 19 August 2000 in a 2–0 victory over AZ Alkmaar at the age of 17.[4] Leonardo's debut sparked controversy for himself and Feyenoord as FIFA regulations for the status of players under article 19 dictate "international transfers of players are only permitted if the player is over the age of 18" when it comes to non European Union (EU) players.[5] It turned out Leonardo had been misinformed and misrepresented which resulted in a forged Portuguese passport being handed to Leonardo that made Feyenoord believe they could play Leonardo when he was only 17.[6]

Leonardo had to wait until he turned 18 to play in Feyenoord's first team again. He scored his first goal in the match versus SC Heerenveen, which ended in 2–0. His second goal he scored in the away win against arch rivals Ajax.

In his first two seasons at Feyenoord he played 44 matches and scored four goals. He was part of the Feyenoord squad that won the 2001–02 UEFA Cup.

NAC Breda (first stint)

He joined NAC Breda in January 2006 on a 1.5-year deal. He helped NAC Breda to stay in the Eredivisie by scoring 8 goals in 14 matches in the regular season, which made him top goal scorer at the club.

Ajax Amsterdam

In December 2006 Leonardo agreed with Ajax on a new 2.5-year contract. On 21 January 2007 he played his first Ajax Eredivisie game against FC Utrecht[7] Six weeks later in the game against SC Heerenveen he suffered a heavy injury tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, which sidelined him for at least six months.

NAC Breda (second stint)

2011 he went from NAC Breda to FC Red Bull Salzburg on loan.

Ferencváros

In February 2013 Leonardo signed a contract with Hungarian top club Ferencváros.[8]

TSV 1860 München

In July 2014 Leonardo was contracted by German 2. Bundesliga club 1860 Munich. While he regularly played at the start of the 2014–15 season under coach Ricardo Moniz and managed to score twice, he was dropped from the squad after Markus von Ahlen took over the coaching position in September. His contract was terminated on his own wish in the end of November 2014.[9]

Newcastle United Jets FC

21 August 2015, Leonardo signed for A-League club Newcastle United Jets FC in Australia for the 2015-16 A-League season.[10] 12 September 2015, Leonardo made his debut for the Jets in the 0-0 pre-season draw with the Brisbane Roar at Redland City. Leonardo came on as a second-half substitute with thirty minutes to go in the match for youngster Mitch Cooper in the number ten role.[11] Leonardo made his A-League debut in the opening round match between the Jets and Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium. Leonardo started and played most of the match, being substituted in the 81st minute for striker Labinot Haliti. Newcastle and Leonardo won the match 2-1.

Statistics

Season Club Competition Apps Goals
2000/01FeyenoordNetherlands Eredivisie232
2001/02FeyenoordNetherlands Eredivisie212
2002/03FeyenoordNetherlands Eredivisie30
2003/04FeyenoordNetherlands Eredivisie30
2004/05FeyenoordNetherlands Eredivisie40
2005/06FeyenoordNetherlands Eredivisie10
2005/06NAC BredaNetherlands Eredivisie148
2006/07NAC BredaNetherlands Eredivisie172
2006/07AjaxNetherlands Eredivisie71
2007/08AjaxNetherlands Eredivisie92
2008/09AjaxNetherlands Eredivisie242
2009/10NAC BredaNetherlands Eredivisie174
2010/11NAC BredaNetherlands Eredivisie252
2011/12FC Red Bull SalzburgAustria Bundesliga304
2012/13 Ferencvárosi TCHungary NB1 9 2
2013/14 Ferencvárosi TCHungary NB1 14 5
2014/15 1860 MunichGermany 2. Bundesliga 8 2
2015/16 Newcastle JetsAustralia A-League 18 0
Total 216 33

Honours

Club

References

  1. ↑ "Solo - De wet van de Favela" (in Dutch). eeuwvandestad.nl. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  2. ↑ "Solo - De wet van de Favela". Netherlands Film Festival. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  3. ↑ Ajax confirm purchase of NAC Breda forward Leonardo
  4. ↑ "Feyenoord v AZ Alkmaar, 19 August 2000". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  5. ↑ p.17 "Regulations on the Status and Transfer of Players" (PDF). FIFA. 2003-10-19. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  6. ↑ Schoorl, John (2001-06-26). "Leonardo kreeg vals paspoort via criminelen" (in Dutch). www.volkskrant.nl. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  7. ↑ "Tactical Formation". Football-Lineups.com. Retrieved 22 January 2007.
  8. ↑ "Ferencváros announcing Leonardo has signed". Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Leonardo & Lions are terminating contract" (in German). Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Jets land Brazilian midfielder". A-League. 2015-08-21. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  11. ↑ Gardiner, James (2015-09-12). "Newcastle Jets 2015: Leonardo fails to score in Jets debut". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 2016-04-02.
  12. ↑ Red Bull Salzburg are the 2011–12 champions
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