Giovanni dos Santos: The heir to Ronaldinho

By John F. Molinaro, CBCSports.ca

The 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup isn't even a week old, but they're already calling it the goal of the tournament.

Mexico had found itself unable to break down a pesky Gambian team in its opening game of the competition on Monday, but then a thunderbolt of a shot from a special player broke the deadlock in the 57th minute.

That's when Mexican midfielder Giovanni dos Santos out-muscled a defender to the ball after a poor defensive header and hit a gorgeous volley over Gambian goalkeeper Joseph Gomez.

The Mexicans eventually cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over the Africans, but the opening goal demonstrated why dos Santos is heralded as one the best youth players in the world. In that one moment he showed no hesitation, only the natural goal-scoring instinct of a veteran star.

Giovanni dos Santos leads the attack for Mexico. (AIME RAZURI/AFP/Getty Images)

"To be honest, when the ball came to me I didn't even think twice about hitting it or where I was, I just knew I needed to try and shoot. I'm so happy it went in," dos Santos told reporters after the game.

Dos Santos's goal was a thing of beauty, the type of goal you'd expect from Ronaldinho, the FC Barcelona standout and two-time FIFA World Player of the Year.

It hardly comes as a surprise then that dos Santos, 18, is a member of FC Barcelona's youth team and is already being heralded as Ronaldinho's heir, as the young Mexican has drawn comparisons with the Brazilian for his long-range shooting skills and exquisite ball handling ability.

Son of Zizinho

Dos Santos comes from good soccer stock. He is the son of the former Brazilian player Gerardo dos Santos, better known as Zizinho, who played for Mexican clubs America and Leon in the late 1980s.

The young dos Santos began playing soccer when he was six, learning the game at a soccer school his father founded in Monterrey. As a 12-year-old, he participated in the Dallas Cup, a prestigious youth tournament held every year in Texas featuring top teams from around the world.

Dos Santos was the star of the 2001 tournament, helping his Sao Paulo team win the U-12 championship. The Mexican's star was already on the rise.

Shortly after the victory at the Dallas Cup, dos Santos became a member of the youth team for Club Monterrey, one of the top pro Mexican teams. It was while playing for Monterrey in a tournament in Europe that dos Santos was spotted by scouts for Barcelona.

The Spanish club pursued the young Mexican, and a year later, his parents agreed to allow him to move to Spain.

"At first, I didn't think anything of it, I was 13 years old! It was always a dream of mine to play in Europe but it was only a thought," dos Santos told CBC Sports. "When I finally returned home [from the tournament in Europe] there was a faxed invite from Barcelona; I called the person as fast as I could, I was happy because it was one of my dreams come true."

Dos Santos has played the last two seasons with Barcelona's youth team, but he's also found time to represent his country, including at the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

It was in Peru that dos Santos first garnered international attention, winning the Silver Ball award as the second-best player in the tournament and helping Mexico win the title.

Last summer, dos Santos travelled with Barcelona's senior team on a pre-season trip to Denmark and scored in an exhibition match against a local Danish side. Dos Santos has yet to make his official debut for the club in a regular season game, but club president Joan Laporta recently told a Spanish newspaper the budding Mexican star will play with Barcelona's senior team this upcoming season.

Dos Santos is excited over the prospect of playing for one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world, but he also realizes it comes with a lot of pressure and responsibility.

"It's the first team, so the level and the expectations are very high. Each day we have to get better, we have to work to the maximum because the [scrutiny] of the public is always at its highest at all of Barcelona's games," dos Santos said.

Pretty soon he'll be taking to the field at Barcelona's famous Nou Camp alongside Ronaldinho, but before he does, there is the small matter of helping Mexico progress at the U-20 World Cup.

"I think if we keep going along like this we can win this competition," dos Santos said after the win over Gambia. "We just need to stick together and keep motivated."