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Leicy Santos

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In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Santos and the second or maternal family name is Herrera.
Leicy Santos
Santos with the Washington Spirit in 2024
Personal information
Full name Leicy María Santos Herrera[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-16) 16 May 1996 (age 28)[1]
Place of birth Lorica, Colombia
Height 1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Washington Spirit
Number 10
Youth career
2009–2016 Club Besser
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Iowa Central Tritons 11 (7)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016 Future Soccer (12)
2017–2019 Santa Fe
2019–2024 Atlético Madrid 100 (15)
2024– Washington Spirit 3 (2)
International career‡
2012 Colombia U17 3 (0)
2013–2015 Colombia U20 2 (2)
2014– Colombia 58 (16)
Medal record
Women's football
Representing  Colombia
Copa América Femenina
Runner-up 2014 Ecuador
Runner-up 2022 Colombia
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 11 September 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 August 2024

Leicy María Santos Herrera (born 16 May 1996) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for National Women's Soccer League club Washington Spirit and the Colombia national team.

Santos was an NJCAA national champion with Iowa Central before joining Santa Fe in the new Colombian Women's Football League in 2017. In 2019, she signed with Liga F club Atlético Madrid, where she won one Supercopa and one Copa de la Reina in five seasons with the club.

Santos made her full international debut for Colombia in 2014.

Early life

Santos was born on 16 May 1996 in the town of San Sebastián, a municipality of Santa Cruz de Lorica, Córdoba, Colombia. She was encouraged to play soccer from a young age by her father, Elizaith Santos, who was also a soccer player and previously a member of the Córdoba Under-20 National Team.[3] Santos's mother initially did not like the idea of her playing soccer, and insisted that she help clean their home instead of playing.[4]

Santos played on boys' teams as a child and was the only girl playing at tournaments. One afternoon, César Correa, a friend of her father's, saw her play and recommended that she travel to Bogotá so she could try out for Club Besser, who was looking for female players.[3][4] After a call from the Colombia women's national team and gathering the support of her family and friends to finance the trip, she moved to Bogotá with Correa. After six months of training with Club Besser, her parents joined her in Bogotá. Despite various difficulties, she and coach Pedro Rodríguez formed a women's team for Club Besser. Santos's stellar performances led to call-ups for the Bogotá National Team and the Colombia women's national under-17 football team.[5] She remained at Club Besser until 2016.[3]

In 2015, Santos played in the United States for Iowa Central Community College. In only her second game, she scored a hat trick.[6] The team finished the season as NJCAA national champions after she assisted on the lone goal of the championship match against Eastern Florida State College.[7] She played a total of 11 games, with 7 goals and 3 assists.[8]

Club career

Santa Fe (2017–2019)

In 2016, the founding of the Colombian Women's Football League was announced, along with a new alliance between Santa Fe and the amateur women's club Future Soccer with the goal of forming a professional team for the new league. Santos began playing for Santa Fe in the National Women's Club Championship in the Amateur Division of Colombian Soccer, a precursor to the full professional league. Santa Fe went undefeated through 26 games and reached the semifinals of the championship; Santos was considered one of the best players on the team.[9] Thanks to her outstanding performance, she was called up to the Colombia women's national team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[10]

Santos debuted in the Colombian Women's Football League on 19 February 2017, in a 3–0 victory against La Equidad.[11] On 26 February, she scored her first goal and first hat trick in a professional league.[3] Santa Fe ended up winning the first-ever women's professional championship in front of 33,327 spectators at Estadio El Campín, a record for women's soccer in Colombia; Santos emerged as one of the great figures of the team.[12][13][14]

As national champions, Santa Fe represented Colombia at the 2017 Copa Libertadores. In the group stage, they defeated the Bolivian Club Deportivo ITA 9–2, with Santos scoring two goals. They were ultimately eliminated from the tournament by Corinthians in their final group stage match.[15]

In 2018, Santa Fe began their season with a defeat, but roared back with a massive 10–0 victory in their second game, with Santos scoring 4 goals.[16] The team finished the season ranked first in the league. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Cortuluá with goals from Santos in the first and second legs. Santa Fe fell to Atlético Nacional in the semifinals.[17]

After the championship, a conflict arose between the Colombian Soccer Federation and the women's professional and national team players after complaints of sexual and labor abuse, along with homophobic and misogynistic behavior. The professional league was briefly canceled as a result. Santos was the spokesperson for the professional players in meetings with the Government of Colombia and the directors of the soccer clubs, who eventually agreed to continue the professional league.[18][19]

In 2019, Santos only played two games for Santa Fe after scheduling conflicts with her call-up for the 2019 Pan American Games and her transfer to Atlético Madrid. In her final game for the club, there was a celebration in her honor.[20]

Club Deportivo Generaciones Palmiranas (2016)

After playing in the 2016 Summer Olympics, she returned to Bogotá, where she temporarily joined Club Deportivo Generaciones Palmiranas to play in the 2016 Copa Libertadores Femenina. She debuted on 7 December 2016 against Bolivian club San Martín de Porres. On 10 December 2016, she scored a hat trick in a 7–0 victory over Uruguayan club Club Nacional.[21] She also played in the draw against Brazilian club Foz Cataratas, which eliminated the Colombian team. After the tournament, she returned to Santa Fe to prepare for the first women's professional league in Colombia.

Atlético Madrid (2019–2024)

On 4 August 2019, Atlético Madrid announced that they had signed Santos for the 2019–2020 season.[22] She debuted on 7 September 2019 in a 1–0 win against Sporting de Huelva at Estadio Nueva Condomina, coming on for Toni Duggan in the second half.[23] She scored her first goal for Atlético Madrid on 26 October 2019 in San Sebastián, contributing to a 4–1 victory against Real Sociedad. After starting the season as a substitute, injuries to players likes Virginia Torrecilla and Toni Duggan led to her becoming a regular starter. She played in 20 league games, scored 5 goals and provided one assist before the season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She played in the semifinal of the Supercopa, in which they were defeated by FC Barcelona. Santos was considered one of the club's most outstanding players that year, and the club decided to extend her contract.[24][25]

For the first games of the 2020–21 season, she was a substitute due to recovering from COVID-19, but quickly became a starter again. In December 2020, the EFE named her the Most Valuable Latin American player.[26] On 15 December 2020, she became the first Colombian woman to score in the UEFA Women's Champions League; her goal came during the second leg of their round of 32 match against Servette, a game that ended in a 5–0 victory for Atlético Madrid.[27][28] In January 2021, they won the Supercopa despite their poor results in league play.[29]

During the 2021–22 season, Santos was initially a substitute, but gradually established herself as a starter. Atlético Madrid finished the season in fourth place, one point away from third place, which would have qualified them for the UEFA Women's Champions League. They were finalists in the Supercopa, which they lost to FC Barcelona. In the Copa de la Reina, they lost in the Round of 16 against Sporting de Huelva. The IFFHS chose Santos as part of their CONMEBOL Best XI for 2022.[30]

The team was inconsistent during the 2022–23 season and changed coaches, ultimately finishing fourth in the league. Santos suffered various injuries and hardly played in the second half of the season. In the Copa de la Reina, they won the final against Real Madrid in a penalty shootout after coming back from being down 2–0 in stoppage time; Santos did not play due to injury.[31]

In the 2023–24 season, she continued to be a starter and performed well in the first half of the season. In January, the team was eliminated from the Supercopa, and they dropped points in several key matches in February, falling further down the standings. Santos continued to deal with muscle injuries. After being eliminated from the Supercopa, Manolo Cano was replaced as head coach by Arturo Ruiz, who had been coaching the reserve team. They earned several consecutive victories without Santos, and finally achieved their goal of qualifying for the Champions League after finishing third in the league.[32]

Washington Spirit (2024–)

On 2 April 2024, Washington Spirit announced that they had signed Santos to a three-year contract and that she would join the team after the conclusion of the 2023–24 Liga F season.[33]

International career

In the quarterfinal of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, Santos scored a lob goal against England goalkeeper Mary Earps, in a manner that commentators compared to the lob goal scored by Ronaldinho against England goalkeeper David Seaman in the quarterfinal of the 2002 FIFA Men's World Cup.[34]

Personal life

With fellow professional footballer Lina Arciniegas, Santos is the co-founder of Cacahuates, a company that creates and distributes nut creams.[35]

In 2021, Santos joined Common Goal.[36]

On 1 July 2024, she announced her engagement to Geral Matallana.[37]

International goals

No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 10 March 2014 Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida, Santiago, Chile  Uruguay 1–0 2–0 2014 South American Games
2. 13 September 2014 Estadio Bellavista, Ambato, Ecuador  Uruguay 3–0 4–0 2014 Copa América Femenina
3. 8 April 2018 Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile  Paraguay 5–0 5–1 2018 Copa América Femenina
4. 10 April 2018  Peru 2–0 3–0
5. 31 July 2019 Estadio Universidad San Marcos, Lima, Peru  Jamaica 1–0 2–0 2019 Pan American Games
6. 2–0
7. 6 August 2019  Costa Rica 1–0 4–3 (a.e.t.)
8. 28 November 2021 Estadio Deportivo Cali, Palmira, Colombia  Uruguay 3–2 3–2 Friendly
9. 9 April 2022 Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero, Cali, Colombia  Venezuela 1–2 2–2
10. 2–2
11. 11 July 2022  Bolivia 1–0 3–0 2022 Copa América Femenina
12. 12 October 2022  Paraguay 3–0 4–0 Friendly
13. 4–0
14. 12 August 2023 Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia  England 1–0 1–2 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
15. 28 July 2024 Stade de Lyon, Décines-Charpieu, France  New Zealand 2–0 2–0 2024 Summer Olympics
16. 3 August 2024  Spain 2–0 2–2 (a.e.t.) (2–4 p)

References

  1. ^ a b "List of Players – 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ a b c d Jaramillo, Jose (23 May 2017). "El fútbol es cosa de niñas". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b Espectador, El (14 April 2020). "ELESPECTADOR.COM". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. ^ Tiempo, Redacción El (5 April 2013). "Trayectoria de una 10, de los potreros a un mundial". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Iowa Lakes Community vs. Iowa Central Communi - Box Score - 10/3/2015". Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Iowa Central Beats Eastern Florida 1-0 For Women's Soccer Title - Space Coast Daily". spacecoastdaily.com. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  8. ^ "Iowa Community College Athletic Conference". Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  9. ^ Samper Pizano, Daniel (2016). Leones Rojos, 75 Años – 75 Ídolos [Red Lions, 75 Years – 75 Idols] (in Spanish). Bogotá, Colombia: Cangrejo Editores. pp. 251–252. ISBN 978-958-8296-70-8.
  10. ^ Espectador, El (14 July 2016). "ELESPECTADOR.COM". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  11. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "Santa Fe femenino fue una 'tromba': goleó 0-3 a Equidad". futbolred.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  12. ^ Espectador, El (14 April 2020). "ELESPECTADOR.COM". ELESPECTADOR.COM (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  13. ^ Casallas, Sergio (24 June 2017). "Leicy Santos, la máxima figura de Las Leonas campeonas". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  14. ^ Nieto, Camilo (24 June 2017). "'Estamos agradecidos con nuestra hinchada': Leicy Santos". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  15. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El. "El balance de Santa Fe en su primera Copa Libertadores Femenina". futbolred.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  16. ^ Flórez, Por Andrés Rocha (18 February 2018). "Las Leonas mostraron su superioridad y golearon a Bogotá". Fémina Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  17. ^ Flórez, Por Andrés Rocha (20 May 2018). "Nacional cazó a las Leonas y avanzó a la final de Liga Femenina". Fémina Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  18. ^ Fútbol, Por Fémina (7 March 2019). "Jugadoras de la Selección Colombia presentaron pruebas de sus denuncias y piden no acabar con la Liga Femenina". Fémina Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  19. ^ Fútbol, Por Fémina (19 March 2019). "Gobierno de Colombia y Directivos del Fútbol dan el "Sí" a la continuidad de la Liga Profesional Femenina". Fémina Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  20. ^ Viracachá, Por Diego (18 July 2019). "Liga Águila Femenina 2019: Clásico Capitalino terminó igualado". Fémina Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  21. ^ Barreiro, Por Federico (11 December 2016). "Generaciones Palmiranas golea en la Libertadores". Fémina Fútbol (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Club Atlético de Madrid - Acuerdo con el Independiente Santa Fe para la cesión de Leicy Santos". Club Atlético de Madrid (in European Spanish). 4 August 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Club Atlético de Madrid - Estreno triunfal". Club Atlético de Madrid (in European Spanish). 7 September 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  24. ^ Jiménez, Mayca (17 April 2020). "Leicy Santos, la gran revelación de la temporada en el Atleti". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Mundo Deportivo Shopping". shopping.mundodeportivo.com. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Club Atlético de Madrid - Leicy Santos recibió el premio EFE a mejor jugadora latinoamericana". Club Atlético de Madrid (in European Spanish). 11 December 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Club Atlético de Madrid - Goleada al Servette y a octavos". Club Atlético de Madrid (in European Spanish). 15 December 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  28. ^ Hill, Courtney (24 July 2023). "Leicy Santos: Colombia's history-maker aiming for the FIFA World Cup 2023 podium". Olympics.com. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  29. ^ "Supercopa de España Femenina 2021 - Página oficial del Atlético de Madrid". Club Atlético de Madrid (in European Spanish). 21 July 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  30. ^ "Club Atlético de Madrid - Leicy Santos, incluida en el equipo del año de la CONMEBOL". Club Atlético de Madrid (in European Spanish). 15 February 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  31. ^ Griñán, Marta (28 May 2023). "Remontada de coraje y corazón para alzar la segunda Copa". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  32. ^ Gil, Aimara G. (15 June 2024). "Ajibade mete al Atlético en Champions". Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  33. ^ Spirit, Washington (2 April 2024). "Washington Spirit Lands Colombian National Team Star, World Cup Standout Leicy Santos". Washington Spirit. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  34. ^ Harpur, Charlotte; Whitehead, Jacob (12 August 2023). "England beat Colombia: Lionesses progress to World Cup semi-final – instant analysis". The Athletic.
  35. ^ "Nosotros | Cacahuates | Colombia". Cacahuates (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  36. ^ "Atlético Madrid Star Joins Common Goal - Common Goal". www.common-goal.org. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  37. ^ @leicysantos10 (7 July 2024). "Y así fue! 😍 Uno de los días más nerviosos que he tenido" – via Instagram.
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