Tottenham’s Giovani dos Santos – ‘The Forgotten Man of White Hart Lane’

There are a number of Tottenham players over the past few seasons who could lay claim to the title, ‘The Forgotten Man of White Hart Lane’. Giovani dos Santos, simply known as Giovani, must be the current holder – as he continues with the Mexican Olympic team who have reached the quarter finals with the Tottenham player’s assistance. While the new Coach at Spurs, Andre Villas-Boas has been assessing his squad on their pre-season tour in America, giving a number of previously marginalised players the chance of a fresh start at the club, dos Santos hasn’t been able to avail of that opportunity. In fact, he hasn’t even spoken to the new manager and with Mexico’s success, that meeting will have to wait a little longer.

Frustration at Tottenham!

Giovani dos Santos, aged 19, arrived at Tottenham in the summer of 2008 as a huge prospect, signed by Juande Ramos from Barcelona for a fee of £4.7 million. He had made 28 League appearances for the Spanish club that season, having played for Barcelona ‘B’ the previous year. In his final match at the Nou Camp Stadium he scored a hat-trick against Real Murcia and in total played 37 games, scoring 4 goals with 7 assists in League, Cup and European competitions.

At Tottenham, he was involved in six of the first seven Premier League matches at the beginning of his first season at White Hart Lane. He made his debut in the opening game at Middlesbrough as Tottenham lost. His only other start was at Stamford Bridge where Tottenham earned a point in their infamous ‘two points from eight games’ start to the season which caused the sacking of Ramos and the arrival of Harry Redknapp. In total, Giovani made 12 appearances for Spurs that season with only three of them being for Redknapp – a substitute appearance in the FA Cup and two games in the UEFA Cup when Spurs fielded an under-strength side. In the home match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Giovani scored his first goal for the club. In March, he went on loan to Ipswich Town for the remainder of the season.

The following season he made only three appearances for Spurs – two in the Carling Cup and in the second against Preston North End he injured his ankle which kept him out for some time. In the January he went on loan to Galatasary in Turkey for the rest of the season.

With every transfer window, there was speculation that Giovani would be leaving White Hart Lane with clubs reported to be interested in signing him but it didn’t happen. In the first half of season 2010-11 he made only five appearances and in the January joined Racing Santander where he scored five goals in 16 matches.

He remained at Tottenham throughout last season but was used mostly in the Cups and European matches when Redknapp selected weakened teams. He scored twice, in the Europa League against Shamrock Rovers and against Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup. The extent of Giovani’s limited involvement at Tottenham is shown by one statistic – he is credited with 17 Premier League appearances but only two of them were in the starting eleven, the rest were as a substitute which may have been for only a few minutes, giving him little opportunity to influence the game. Redknapp frequently questioned his application and Giovani has been sidelined during his four seasons at Spurs.

Success with Mexico!

All the time, while his Tottenham career was at a standstill, no – in free-fall,  Giovani accumulated 59 caps for Mexico with reports of accomplished performances and outstanding goals among the 14 he scored for his country. Was this the same player who was having no impact at Spurs and had become ‘The Forgotten Man of White Hart Lane’? Currently with Mexico at the Olympics, he has contributed to their qualification from the Group stage by scoring twice in their second match against Gabon after coming on as a substitute and in the crucial match against Switzerland he provided the ‘assist’ for the only goal as he took on the Swiss defence before laying off the pass for Peralto to score.

A Future at Tottenham?

Once again it was assumed that Giovani would be leaving Spurs this summer but the departure of Redknapp appears to have given him renewed hope for a future at the club. Giovani found it frustrating not to be playing under Redknapp, claiming that the manager didn’t speak to him or explain why he wasn’t selected.

The arrival of Andre Villas-Boas may provide an opportunity for Giovani to show what he is capable of at Spurs. Speaking positively of the appointment he said,

"“Everything is changing at Tottenham – there’s a new manager and it could mean I have an opportunity this season. I have to go back and talk with the manager and see what he thinks and then we’ll see what the future is.”"

Giovani has one year left on his Tottenham contract but any talks about his future will have to wait until after Mexico are eliminated from the Olympic tournament.

Can he resurrect his Spurs career? I have my doubts that his style of play will stand up to the rigours of Premier League football. There are fans who regularly call for him to be given an opportunity in the team but on the very limited appearances he has made he hasn’t shown anything to suggest that he will reach the level of consistent performance required in English football. He has outstanding skill but can it be applied and worked into a system for the benefit of the team? There has been speculation on a number of occasions that he has been a target for clubs in Spain but no-one would match Tottenham’s expectations in the transfer fee. That may be a place where he can display his talents to their best but he may be given an opportunity at Spurs until next January to impress Villas-Boas especially, as currently, Tottenham are short on strikers with only Jermain Defoe and Harry Kane.

Will ‘The Forgotten Man of White Hart Lane’ be remembered for more than just being anonymous during his time with Tottenham?

Watch Giovani’s Goal of the Year (2011) for Mexico v USA on HotspurHQ Hub: here(Well worth a look – Brilliant!!)