Paulinho Santos

Not to be confused withPaulino Santos.

In thisPortuguese name,the first or maternalfamily nameisMaioand the second or paternal family name isDos Santos.

Paulinho Santos

Santos as assistant manager ofPortoin 2013
Personal information
Full name	João Paulo Maio dos Santos
Date of birth	(1970-11-21)21 November 1970
Place of birth	Vila do Conde,Portugal
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Porto(assistant)
Youth career
	Caxineiros Unidos
1982–1985	Varzim
1986–1989	Rio Ave
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1989–1992	Rio Ave	88	(1)
1992–2003	Porto	205	(7)
Total		293	(8)
International career
1994–1999	Portugal	30	(2)
Managerial career
2011–	Porto(assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

João Paulo Maio dos Santos(born 21 November 1970), commonly known asPaulinho Santos,is a Portuguese formerfootballerwho played mainly as adefensive midfielder.

He spent 11 years of his professional career withPorto,playing in several positions and winning 19 major titles whilst appearing in more than 300 official games for the club.

Santos representedPortugalatEuro 1996.

Club career

Born inVila do Conde,Santos started playing with hometown'sRio Ave FC,competing two seasons in thesecond divisionand one inthe third.He moved in 1992 toFC Porto,helping the latter (often in an instrumental role) to sevenPrimeira Ligatitles and fiveTaça de Portugal,having taken over from the player he idolised while growing up,António André– who had also played in his first club.

In Porto, Santos and four others became the only players in the history of Portuguese football to win five consecutive league titles from 1994 to 1999. Uponwinning the 2003 editionof theUEFA Cup,he was already second-fiddle – a total of five games in his last two seasons – and retired at the end ofthat campaign.

A player of aggressive approach, Santos often scuffled withS.L. Benfica'sJoão Pintoduring his career. As a symbolic gesture, however, they exchanged shirts before Santos' last match, againstSporting CP(where Pinto was playing), atEstádio das Antas,in June 2003.

Three years later, Santos began a coaching career, spending several years with Porto's various youth sides, mainly as an assistant.In2011–12,he was promoted to the first team asVítor Pereira's assistant.

International career

Santos earned 30capsfor thePortugal national team,scoring two goals (including a solo effort in a 1–1 away draw againstAustriaon 11 October 1995).His first game was on 19 January 1994 in a 2–2 draw withSpaininVigoin afriendly,and his last came on 10 February 1999 in a 0–0 draw with theNetherlandsat theParc des PrincesinParis,in another exhibition game.

Santos participated atUEFA Euro 1996,where he played asleft-back,and missedEuro 2000due to injury.

Paulinho Santos: International goals

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	15 August 1995	Sportpark Eschen-Mauren,Eschen, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	0–2	0–7	Euro 1996 qualifying
2	11 October 1995	Ernst-Happel-Stadion,Vienna, Austria	Austria	1–1	1–1	Euro 1996 qualifying

Honours

Porto

• Primeira Liga:1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2002–03
• Taça de Portugal:1993–94, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira:1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001
• UEFA Cup:2002–03

External links

• Paulinho Santosat ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Paulinho Santosnational team profile at thePortuguese Football Federation(in Portuguese)
• Paulinho Santosat National-Football-Teams.com