Samir (footballer, born 1994)

Samir Caetano de Souza Santos (born 5 December 1994), also known as Samir, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Liga MX club Tigres UANL.

Samir
Personal information
Full nameSamir Caetano de Souza Santos[1]
Date of birth (1994-12-05) 5 December 1994 (age 29)
Place of birthRio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s)Centre back
Team information
Current team
UANL
Number3
Youth career
2009–2011Audax Rio
2011Flamengo (loan)
2012–2013Flamengo
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2013–2015Flamengo50(1)
2016–2022Udinese142(6)
2016Verona (loan)3(1)
2022Watford19(0)
2022–UANL45(2)
International career
2014Brazil U211(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:25, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Born in Rio de Janeiro, Samir began his career with Brazilian side Flamengo, making his Série A debut with the club's first team in 2013; he won the 2013 Copa do Brasil and the 2014 Campeonato Carioca with the club.[3][4][5]

On 18 January 2016, he joined Italian club Udinese for €4.5 million,[3] but was immediately loaned out to Verona for the remainder of the 2015–16 Serie A season.[4]

On 4 April 2016, he made his Serie A debut, scoring the decisive goal in a 1–0 away win against Bologna from a header.[4]

On 6 January 2022, Samir signed for English club Watford on a three and a half year deal for an undisclosed fee.[6]

International career

Samir was included in the Brazilian under-20 side for the 2013 South American Youth Football Championship.[7] He has also represented Brazil at under-21 level.[5]

Samir was included in the senior national team for the first time in August 16, 2019; for friendlies against Colombia and Peru in the following month.

Style of play

Samir is a large and physically powerful left-footed defender, who is known for his confidence, solid distribution, ability to read the game, and strength in the air, which makes him a goal threat on set-pieces in the opposition's area. Although primarily a centre-back, he is also capable of playing as a left-back or as a defensive midfielder.[3][4][5][8][9][10]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 January 2022[8][11]
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
FlamengoSérie A201313040170
20141715060111392
20152003071301
Total50112060182863
UdineseSerie A2016–1721000210
2017–1831200312
2018–1921210222
2019–2021110221
2020–2130120321
2021–2218020200
Total142610000001526
Verona (loan)Serie A2015–16310031
WatfordPremier League2021–221900000190
Career total21481806018223710

Honours

Flamengo[5][11]

Tigres UANL

References