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Daniel Dos Santos
Personal information
Full name	Daniel Dos Santos Correia
Date of birth	29 December 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Covilhã, Portugal
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Lugano
Number	27
Youth career
	Interlaken
2014–2021	Thun
Senior career*
Years	Team
2021–2024	Thun
2024–	Lugano
International career‡
2022–2023	Switzerland U20
2023–	Switzerland U21
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:04, 14 December 2024 (UTC); ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:04, 14 December 2024 (UTC)

Daniel Dos Santos Correia (born 29 December 2002) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Swiss club FC Lugano. Born in Portugal, he represents Switzerland at under-21 level.^[1]

Club career

Thun

Born in Covilhã in the Castelo Branco District of Portugal, Dos Santos was raised in Switzerland from the age of six months, as his father was already working in the Alpine country.^[1] He grew up in Interlaken in the Canton of Bern.^[2] He began playing for FC Interlaken before moving into the youth ranks of FC Thun when he was 11; his parents drove him 30 kilometres each way to Thun before he could take the bus or train by himself.^[1]

Dos Santos made his senior debut for FC Thun on 12 February 2021 in the Swiss Challenge League.^[1] He was elected the league's Player of the Season for 2023–24, with 10 goals and 9 assists as his team finished runners-up to FC Sion.^[3] He was also chosen as the league's best player of the calendar year 2023.^[4] In May 2024, his team missed out on promotion to the Swiss Super League after losing a playoff to Grasshopper Club Zurich.^[5]

Lugano

In June 2024, Dos Santos signed a four-year contract at Super League club FC Lugano,^[6] for an estimated fee of 1 million Swiss francs.^[3] He scored his first goal for the club on 14 September in the second round of the Swiss Cup away to FC Rapperswil-Jona of the third-tier Swiss Promotion League, in a 3–1 win.^[7] On 3 October he netted his first European goal, coming off the bench to conclude a 3–0 home win over Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi in the league phase of the UEFA Conference League; Adrian Horn of the Berner Zeitung commented that only Dos Santos would remember the match, which drew only 932 spectators on a cold and wet evening.^[2]

International career

Dos Santos was called up to Portugal under-15 in 2016 but opted to represent Switzerland, the country with which he has dual nationality.^[1] He has represented his adopted nation at under-20 and under-21 level, and in 2022 Swiss online newspaper Watson listed him as a candidate for the senior team's first player from the Portuguese community.^[8] On 21 November 2023, he scored his first goal for the under-21 team, the late equaliser in a 2–2 draw with Romania in 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification in Neuchâtel.^[9]

Personal life

Dos Santos is a fan of Portuguese clubs S.L. Benfica and S.C. Covilhã.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Alves, João Miguel (28 September 2023). "Daniel dos Santos: o suíço da Covilhã" [Daniel Dos Santos: the Swiss man from Covilhã]. Notícias da Covilhã (in Portuguese). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b Horn, Adrian (4 October 2024). "In seinem «Kinderzimmer» erzielt Daniel Dos Santos ein Traumtor" [In his "children's room" Daniel Dos Santos scores a dream goal]. Berner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b Frezza, Carlos Emanuele; Ruckstuhl, Pascal; Werder, Lucas (19 July 2024). "Voici les nouvelles attractions qui vont enchanter la Super League" [These are the new attractions who will enchant the Super League]. Blick (in French). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
^ "Débat: entre Sion et Thoune, qui va monter directement?" [Debate: between Sion and Thun, who will go up automatically?]. Le Matin (in French). 25 January 2024. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
^ Härri, Frederic (31 May 2024). "Rettung wie im Hollywood-Film: Die Grasshoppers bleiben in der Super League" [Rescue like a Hollywood film: Grasshoppers stay in the Super League]. Luzerner Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
^ Giraldi, Michele (24 June 2024). "Dos Santos è del Lugano" [Dos Santos is a Lugano player] (in Italian). Tio.ch. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
^ "A Rapperswil il Lugano conquista gli ottavi nella ripresa" [In Rapperswil Lugano conquer the last 16 in the second half] (in Italian). Radiotelevisione svizzera. 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
^ Amorim, Jonathan (12 June 2022). "Aucun Portugais n'a joué pour la Nati, ces pépites peuvent le faire" [No Portuguese have played for the national team, these gems could do it]. Watson (in French). Retrieved 13 December 2024.
^ "L'équipe de Suisse M21 arrache un point en fin de match" [Switzerland U21 team snatch a point at the end of the match]. Blick (in French). 21 November 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2024.