Leonardo Vitor Santiago
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leonardo de Vitor Santiago | ||
| Date of birth | 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 United Jets | 20 | (1) |
| 2017 | FC Eindhoven | 8 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 May 2017. |
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Leonardo Vitor Santiago (born 9 March 1983), commonly known as Leonardo, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a winger or playmaker. Leonardo is a former U-20 Brazilian international.
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. 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.
Following the attention the film brought Leonardo, he moved to Rotterdam to play in Feyenoord's youth academy setup at Varkenoord. Leonardo made his debut for Feyenoord on 19 August 2000 in a 2–0 victory over AZ Alkmaar at the age of 17. 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. 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.
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.
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