Thiago Santana

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Santos and the second or paternal family name is Santana.

Thiago Santos Santana (born 4 February 1993), known as Thiago Santana, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for J1 League side Urawa Red Diamonds.

Thiago Santana

Personal information
Full name	Thiago Santos Santana
Date of birth	(1993-02-04) 4 February 1993 (age 31)
Place of birth	Serrinha, Brazil
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Forward
Team information
Current team	Urawa Red Diamonds
Number	12
Youth career
2011–2013	São Carlos
2012–2013	→ Internacional (loan)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2016	São Carlos	2	(0)
2014	→ Caxias (loan)	16	(3)
2015	→ Atlético Ibirama (loan)	15	(10)
2015	→ Figueirense (loan)	25	(4)
2016	→ Náutico (loan)	12	(2)
2016–2017	Vitória de Setúbal	18	(0)
2017–2020	Santa Clara	85	(30)
2021–2024	Shimizu S-Pulse	104	(39)
2024–	Urawa Red Diamonds	16	(7)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:49, 16 April 2024 (UTC)

Career

São Carlos

Born in Serrinha, Bahia, Thiago Santana began his career with São Carlos, making his senior debuts in 2011 Campeonato Paulista Série A3. In 2012, he moved to Internacional, returning to youth football.

On 13 February 2014, Thiago Santana joined Caxias.^[1] On 15 January of the following year he signed for Atlético Ibirama.^[2]

Thiago Santana was the club's top scorer in the year's Campeonato Catarinense (the second best overall), with ten goals. On 8 May 2015, he joined Série A club Figueirense.^[3]

Thiago Santana made his debut in the main category of Brazilian football on 7 June 2015, starting and scoring the winner in a 2–1 home success over Palmeiras.^[4] The following January he was loaned to Náutico of the Campeonato Pernambucano,^[5] and was released in June before the Série B season due to a poor scoring rate.^[6]

Vitória Setúbal

On 11 June 2016, Thiago Santana moved abroad for the first time when he signed for Vitória de Setúbal in Portugal's Primeira Liga.^[7] In 23 total games, he scored once to open a 2–0 win at Benfica Castelo Branco in the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal on 20 November.^[8]

Santa Clara

In June 2017, Thiago Santana moved to Santa Clara of the LigaPro.^[9] He scored 15 times in 33 games in his first season in the Azores as they won promotion as runners-up to Nacional; this put him behind only Ricardo Gomes and compatriot Carlos Vinícius in the overall top scorers.^[10] He scored his first goal in Portugal's top flight on 19 August 2018, starting a comeback from 0–3 down at half time to draw at home to Braga.^[11]

On 1 April 2019, Thiago Santana signed a new three-year deal with Santa Clara.^[12] He scored six times in the upcoming season as they retained their place in the league, including two on 5 June 2020 in a 3–2 home win over Braga, played in Oeiras near Lisbon due to COVID-19 complications.^[13]

Thiago Santana scored in a 2–1 home loss to Sporting CP on 24 October 2020. He therefore surpassed Zé Manuel's record of 12 top-flight goals for Santa Clara.^[14]

Shimizu S-Pulse

On 13 December 2020, Thiago Santana moved to Shimizu S-Pulse of the Japanese J1 League, for a fee of €1 million.^[15] In February 2021, he scored on his debut in a 1–3 league victory over Kashima Antlers.^[16] He scored 14 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions in his debut season with the club.

In his second season, Thiago Santana finished as the league's top scorer, with 14 league goals in 27 appearances. He was also inducted into the season's Best XI at the end of season awards.^[17] His performances were not enough to prevent Shimizu from being relegated to the second tier at the end of the 2022 season.

Thiago Santana remained with Shimizu S-Pulse in the J2 League and continued to be an important player, scoring 14 goals in the season and helping the club to a fourth-placed finish. He also scored his first hat-trick for the club in a 9–1 thrashing of Iwaki FC.^[18]

Urawa Red Diamonds

In January 2024, it was announced that Thiago Santana would be moving to J1 League club Urawa Red Diamonds ahead of the 2024 season.^[19] He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 defeat to Sanfrecce Hiroshima. He didn't score a goal in his 4 games for the club, but scored in his fifth appearance in a 2–1 win over Avispa Fukuoka, also scoring in the next two games as well. In the match against Albirex he scored again ^[20]

Career statistics

As of 30 November 2024^[21][22]

Club	Season	League			State League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
São Carlos	2011	Paulista A3	—		2	0	—		—		—		—		2	0
Caxias (loan)	2014	Série C	16	3	7	3	—		—		—		—		23	6
Atlético Ibirama (loan)	2015	Catarinense	—		15	10	—		—		—		—		15	10
Figueirense (loan)	2015	Série A	25	4	—		5	0	—		—		—		30	4
Náutico (loan)	2016	Série B	—		12	2	2	0	—		—		—		14	2
Vitória de Setúbal	2016–17	Primeira Liga	18	0	—		3	1	3	0	—		–		24	1
Santa Clara	2017–18	LigaPro	33	15	—		4	1	2	1	—		–		39	17
	2018–19	Primeira Liga	10	2	—		0	0	1	1	—		—		11	3
	2019–20		33	6	—		3	1	1	0	—		—		37	7
	2020–21		9	7	—		1	1	—		—		—		10	8
	Total		85	30	—		8	3	4	2	—		—		97	35
Shimizu S-Pulse	2021	J1 League	37	12	—		1	0	2	1	—		—		40	13
	2022		27	14	—		2	2	3	0	—		—		32	16
	2023	J2 League	38	12	—		0	0	2	1	—		2[a]	1	42	14
	Total		102	38	—		3	2	7	2	—		2	1	114	43
Urawa Red Diamonds	2024	J1 League	36	12	—		—		2	1	—		—		38	13
Career total			275	84	36	15	21	6	16	5	0	0	2	1	349	110

1. Appearance in the J1/J2 play-off

Honours

Individual

• J.League Top Scorer: 2022^[23]
• J.League Best XI: 2022^[23]
• Primeira Liga Forward of the Month: September/October 2020

References

1. "Thiago Santana, ex-Inter, é o novo reforço do Caxias" [Thiago Santana, ex-Inter, is the new addition of Caxias] (in Portuguese). Clic RBS. 13 February 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
2. "Thiago Santana e Elivélton são anunciados no Atlético de Ibirama" [Thiago Santana and Elivélton are announced at Atlético de Ibirama] (in Portuguese). Educadora FM. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
3. "Figueira fecha com atacante Thiago Santana, vice-artilheiro do Catarinense" [Figueira signs forward Thiago Santana, second-best goalscorer of Catarinense] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
4. "Figueirense vence nos erros do Palmeiras e deixa a zona da degola" [Figueirense wins at the expense of Palmeiras' errors and leaves the uncomfortable zone] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
5. "Atacante Thiago Santana é apresentado" [Forward Thiago Santana is presented] (in Portuguese). Clube Náutico Capibaribe. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
6. "Afastado há 40 dias, atacante Thiago Santana rescinde contrato e não é mais atleta do Náutico" [Sidelined for 40 days, striker Thiago Santana severs contract and is no longer Náutico athlete] (in Portuguese). Super Esportes. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
7. "V. Setúbal oficializa brasileiro Thiago Santana" [V. Setúbal confirm Brazilian Thiago Santana]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 11 June 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
8. "Benfica e Castelo Branco "cai de pé" na 4ª eliminatória da Taça de Portugal" [Benfica e Castelo Branco "fall and land on their feet" in the 4th round of the Taça de Portugal] (in Portuguese). Diário Digital Castelo Branco. 20 November 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
9. "Fernando assina por duas épocas" [Fernando signs for two seasons]. Record (in Portuguese). 22 June 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
10. "Onde andam os principais artilheiros da Ledman?" [Where are the Ledman league's main scorers going?] (in Portuguese). Fairplay. 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
11. "Santa Clara obtém empate épico diante do Sp. Braga" [Santa Clara obtain epic draw against Sp. Braga]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 19 August 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
12. "Santa Clara renova com Thiago Santana até 2021/2022" [Santa Clara renew with Thiago Santana until 2021/2022]. Record (in Portuguese). 1 April 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
13. "Santa Clara vence Sporting de Braga com golo nos descontos" [Santa Clara defeat Sporting de Braga with added-time goal] (in Portuguese). TSF. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
14. "Thiago Santana faz história pelo Santa Clara com este golo ao Sporting" [Thiago Santana makes history for Santa Clara with this goal against Sporting]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). 24 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
15. Melo, Arthur (13 December 2020). "Santa Clara encaixa "jackpot" com saída de Thiago Santana" [Santa Clara bank "jackpot" with exit of Thiago Santana]. O Jogo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 December 2020.
16. "Soccer D.B. : 2021 J1 League 21/02/27 Kashima Antlers - Shimizu S-Pulse Results, Players, Formation, Highlight". Soccer D.B. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
17. "2022 J.League Awards: Tomoki Iwata wins Player of the Year | News". J.LEAGUE. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
18. "Soccer D.B. : 2023 J2 League 23/05/07 Shimizu S-Pulse - Iwaki FC Results, Players, Highlight". Soccer D.B. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
19. "チアゴ サンタナ選手 完全移籍加入のお知らせ". URAWA RED DIAMONDS OFFICIAL WEBSITE (in Japanese). 13 January 2024. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
20. "Soccer D.B. : 2024 J1 League 24/03/30 Urawa Reds - Avispa Fukuoka Results, Players, Highlight". Soccer D.B. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
21. Thiago Santana at Soccerway. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
22. "Soccer D.B. : 2024 Thiago Santana Result by Season". soccer-db.net. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
23. "2022 Jリーグアウォーズ受賞者一覧". Football Channel. Retrieved 7 November 2022.

External links

• Thiago Santana at Soccerway
• Thiago Santana at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Thiago Santana at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)