Vietnam coach proposes naturalization of Brazilian central defender Gustavo Santos

Vietnam Football Association and national team coach Kim Sang-sik proposed to naturalize Brazilian central defender Sant Ana Santos Gustavo for Vietnam. On September 19, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam wrote to the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety seeking assistance in the naturalization process of Gustavo-Santos, Da Nang. It is worth mentioning that this is the proposal of the Vietnam Football Association and national team coach Kim Sang-sik. Gustavo Santos was born in 1995 and has been in the Vietnam V League for 6 years. He has played for Vietnam Sports and Telecom, Saigon FC, Song Lan Yi An, Guangning and Tsinghua University and is currently playing for the Da Nang Club. According to the rules, he fully meets the naturalization conditions, which means that after completing the naturalization process, he can immediately represent the Vietnamese national team in the competition.

The Brazilian-born central defender is 1.95 meters tall. His strengths are heading, agile running and commanding skills on the defense. In addition, his ability to launch an offensive is also highly recognized. He is regarded as one of the best foreign central defenders in the V League in recent seasons. Gustavo Santos was once an irreplaceable defensive pillar of the Qinghua Club, helping the team win the third place in the 2022 FA Cup, the 23-24 FA Cup, the 2023 Super Cup and the runner-up in the 2024 Super Cup.

If naturalization is successful, Gustavo Santos may soon be called up for the Vietnamese team. Vietnam's defense will be greatly strengthened before the Asian Cup qualifiers with Malaysia in March next year.