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The Sudden Ascent of Mexico's Fallen Soccer Star — Giovani dos Santos
By JERÉ LONGMAN | The New York Times
As Mexico won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2005, dos Santos was voted the tournament's second-best player. He was the son of a Brazilian father and possessed that familiar Brazilian flair with the ball. The next Ronaldinho, they called him. Of course, it was too much, too soon. Depending on who tells the story, the teenager's chest puffed too broadly with self-satisfaction or his slim shoulders could not bear the weight of expectation. He quickly tumbled from that pedestal of national faith. In March of this year, he was lent to Ipswich Town, a step below the Premier League, a career depreciation that The Guardian newspaper of Manchester called a "humiliating descent" for a player once considered a rising international star.
The decline of dos Santos's career could be found on his inverted club résumé. He grew up in the Barcelona youth system, then played for the senior club in 2007-8, before moving to Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League for 2008-9, where he struggled with fitness on the field and hit bottom off it. Last December, dos Santos, then 19, was photographed at Tottenham’s Christmas party, appearing to be extremely drunk, seemingly in way over his head, unable to stand on his own two feet.
Joseph doesn't predict the end of the world. But Hollywood does. The Sony picture 2012 starring John Cusack comes to theaters this fall, and it's no picnic. There are tsunamis cresting over mountains, covering cities, and toppling the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which then rolls down the avenue. The storyline is drawn from various scenarios laid out in books such as The Complete Idiot's Guide to 2012, which foresee earthquakes, drought and planetary collisions. Those books point both to scientifically accepted events such as an upcoming alignment of planets in our solar system — and to the arrival of a mysterious Planet X into Earth's orbit.
Dos Santos has since turned 20, though, and perhaps he has shed his callowness with his teenage years. Last month, he was named the most valuable player of the regional Gold Cup tournament. In a 5-0 rout of the United States in the final at Giants Stadium, he and his fellow forward Carlos Vela, also 20, scored or facilitated Mexico's first four goals. For the first time in a decade, Mexico defeated the Americans in the United States. And for one of the rare times since his success at the junior level, dos Santos displayed enormous possibility. The defeat brought little recrimination for the United States, which fielded a team of reserves. For Mexico and dos Santos, though, victory might have brought an awakening. >>> Go to Full Story >>>