Samir (footballer, born 1994)

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

Samir

Personal information
Full name	Samir Caetano de Souza Santos[1]
Date of birth	(1994-12-05) 5 December 1994 (age 30)
Place of birth	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s)	Centre back
Team information
Current team	Mazatlán (on loan from UANL)
Number	33
Youth career
2009–2011	Audax Rio
2011	→ Flamengo (loan)
2012–2013	Flamengo
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2015	Flamengo	50	(1)
2016–2022	Udinese	142	(6)
2016	→ Verona (loan)	3	(1)
2022	Watford	19	(0)
2022–	UANL	57	(3)
2025–	→ Mazatlán (loan)	0	(0)
International career
2014	Brazil U21	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19:25, 15 December 2023 (UTC)

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.

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]

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Flamengo	Série A	2013	13	0	4	0	—		—		17	0
		2014	17	1	5	0	6	0	11	1	39	2
		2015	20	0	3	0	—		7	1	30	1
	Total		50	1	12	0	6	0	18	2	86	3
Udinese	Serie A	2016–17	21	0	0	0	—		—		21	0
		2017–18	31	2	0	0	—		—		31	2
		2018–19	21	2	1	0	—		—		22	2
		2019–20	21	1	1	0	—		—		22	1
		2020–21	30	1	2	0	—		—		32	1
		2021–22	18	0	2	0	—		—		20	0
	Total		142	6	10	0	0	0	0	0	152	6
Verona (loan)	Serie A	2015–16	3	1	0	0	—		—		3	1
Watford	Premier League	2021–22	19	0	0	0	0	0	—		19	0
Career total			214	8	18	0	6	0	18	2	237	10

Honours

Flamengo[5][11]

• Copa do Brasil: 2013
• Campeonato Carioca: 2014

Tigres UANL

• Liga MX: Clausura 2023
• Campeón de Campeones: 2023
• Campeones Cup: 2023

References

1. "Updated squad lists for 2021/22 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
2. "22. Samir". www.watfordfc.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
3. Stefano Chioffi (2 December 2015). "Samir, colpo Udinese: arriverà in estate" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
4. Francesco Oddi (4 April 2017). "Verona, Delneri ringrazia Samir: gol all'esordio, in attesa dell'Udinese" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
5. Luca Persico (29 July 2017). "Report: Udinese continue to push for Flamengo defender Samir". www.sambafoot.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
6. "Official: Samir Joins Hornets". www.watfordfc.com. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
7. Christopher Atkins (30 December 2012). "Brazil name 22-man squad for South American Under-20 Championship". www.sambafoot.com. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
8. "SAMIR CAETANO DE SOUZA SANTOS" (in Italian). www.tuttocalciatori.net. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
9. "Calciomercato, Inter: piace Samir dell'Udinese" (in Italian). Sky.it. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
10. Matteo Pifferi (20 June 2017). "Samir chiarisce: "Sono un terzino sinistro ma prima di tutto difensore. Contro l'Inter…"" (in Italian). www.fcinter1908.it. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
11. "Samir". Soccerway. Retrieved 22 October 2017.

External links

• Samir at Soccerway