About Alessandro Santos
Alessandro Santos (三都主 アレサンドロ, Santosu Aresandoro; formerly Alessandro dos Santos; born 20 July 1977), often known as Alex, is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Born in Brazil, he became a Japanese citizen and made 82 appearances for the Japan national team. == Club career == Santos was born in Maringá in Paraná and moved to Japan in 1994 at the age of sixteen. He enrolled in Meitoku Gijuku High School in Kōchi and played football for the school club. After graduating from the school, he joined the J1 League team Shimizu S-Pulse in 1997. In 1999, the club won the second place and he received the J.League Player of the Year. In Asia, the club won the champions 1999–2000 Asian Cup Winners' Cup and third place 2000–01 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. In August 2002, Santos agreed to join English Premier League club Charlton Athletic for a £2.5 million fee. He was denied a work permit by the Home Office because he had not made the minimum number of national team appearances required for players from outside the European Union, and returned to Shimizu for the remainder of the season. In January 2004, he left Shimizu to join the Urawa Reds.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.