There is the old adage of good things coming in small packages. Pacific FC believes so with the signing of five-foot-seven striker Gianni dos Santos from the Netherlands.
When someone who has played in the Dutch premiership Eredivisie recommends a player, you tend to listen. That is what PFC did in inking the 22-year-old Rotterdam native dos Santos, who had four goals in 17 games in 2020-21 in the Dutch second-division for FC Dordecht. Harry van den Ham, former Utrecht player in the Eredivisie and now head coach of FC Dordecht in the Eerste Divisie, has described dos Santos as a 鈥渄iamond in the rough.鈥�
PFC hopes to polish it in the Canadian Premier League. Dos Santos, a dual Netherlands-Cape Verde citizen, arrived this month and has joined PFC in training at Langford following his quarantine.
鈥淕ianni is a young player with good technical ability and potential,鈥� said PFC head coach Pa-Modou Kah, in a statement.
鈥淗e brings a wealth of playing knowledge from playing in the Dutch second division.鈥�
Dos Santos is the 22nd player, and third international, signed by PFC for the 2021 season.
The CPL has announced it will be a hybrid season with each team playing 28 games, beginning in late June or early July at a single-site bubble venue to be announced and without fans. The league is proposing, based on the vaccine timeline, that it will roll into a concluding portion in late summer and the fall with the eight teams playing in their home stadiums with spectators.