Thiago Maia

Thiago Maia
Maia taking a shot at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name Thiago Maia Alencar
Date of birth (1997-03-23) 23 March 1997
Place of birth Boa Vista, Brazil
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Lille
Number 20
Youth career
Extremo Norte
2010–2011 São Caetano
2011–2015 Santos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2017 Santos 72 (3)
2017– Lille 37 (0)
National team‡
2013–2014 Brazil U17 8 (0)
2015 Brazil U20 8 (0)
2016– Brazil U23 6 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 3 September 2018
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17 November 2016

Thiago Maia Alencar (born 23 March 1997), known as Thiago Maia, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for French club Lille OSC as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Santos

Maia playing for Santos in 2016

Born in Boa Vista, Roraima, Thiago Maia began his career at lowly locals Extremo Norte. In August 2010 he moved to São Paulo, joining São Caetano's youth categories, and later moved to Santos in the following year.[1]

On 25 October 2014 Thiago Maia made his first-team debut, replacing fellow youth graduate Serginho in a 1–1 away draw against Chapecoense for the Série A championship.[2] During the 2015 campaign, he proffited from the injury of Alison, establishing himself as a starter from June and earning plaudits for his performances.[3]

On 22 August 2015 Thiago Maia scored his first professional goal, netting the second in a 5–2 home routing of Avaí.[4] On 13 October, after lengthy negotiations, he renewed his contract until 2019.[5]

Thiago Maia became an undisputed starter during the 2016 campaign, partnering Renato at the heart of the midfield. He was also linked to Chelsea, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain during the year.[6]

Thiago Maia completed his 100th match for Peixe on 4 March 2017, in a 0–1 derby loss against Corinthians. In his Copa Libertadores debut five days later, he started and scored the equalizer in a 1–1 away draw against Sporting Cristal.[7]

Lille

On 15 July 2017, French Ligue 1 side Lille OSC reached an agreement with Santos for the transfer of Thiago Maia, for a fee of € 14 million.[8] He made 37 appearances for the club during the season, scoring one goal. He has recently been linked with West Ham United, with French talent scout Alex Holford leading the negatiations with the EPL club.

International career

On 26 December 2014, after featuring regularly with the under-17s, Thiago Maia was called up to the Brazil under-20 side, alongside Santos teammates Gabriel and Caju, for the 2015 South American Youth Football Championship.[9]

On 29 June 2016 Thiago Maia was called up to Olympic team, alongside Santos teammates Gabriel and Zeca, for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.[10] He also became the first athlete from Roraima to appear in the tournament.[11]

Career statistics

As of 3 September 2018[12]
Club Season League Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Santos 2014 Série A 1000—0010
2015 28290—00372
2016 31040—17[lower-alpha 1]0520
2017 121206[lower-alpha 2]112[lower-alpha 1]0322
Total 723150612901224
Lille 2017–18 Ligue 1 34011—2[lower-alpha 3]0371
2018–19 30———30
Total 37011—20401
Career total 1093161613101625
  1. 1 2 Appearance(s) in Campeonato Paulista
  2. ↑ Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  3. ↑ Appearance(s) in Coupe de la Ligue

Honours

Club

Santos[12]

International

Brazil[12]

Individual

References

  1. ↑ "Marquinhos Cai-cai, 1º treinador de Thiago Maia, fala da carreira do atleta" [Marquinhos Cai-Cai, Thiago Maia's 1st manager, talks about the athlete's career] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 26 March 2013.
  2. ↑ "Mistão do Santos não segura a Chapecoense e sofre empate aos 45" [Santos' mixed team cannot hold Chapecoense and suffers draw on the 45th minute] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 25 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "Caçula do Peixe, Thiago Maia se firma como titular e recebe elogios" [Peixe's youngest, Thiago Maia establishes himself as a starter and receives praise] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 6 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Santos ratifica boa fase com goleada sobre o Avaí, que entra no Z-4" [Santos endorses good form with routing over Avaí, who gets in Z-4] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 22 August 2015.
  5. ↑ "Thiago Maia acerta renovação de contrato com o Santos por quatro anos" [Thiago Maia agrees contract renewal with Santos for four years] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Juventus, Chelsea, PSG... "Todos querem Thiago Maia", diz jornal espanhol" [Juventus, Chelsea, PSG... "Everybody wants Thiago Maya", says Spanish journal] (in Portuguese). Fox Sports. 8 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Santos empata na estreia da Libertadores e mantém pressão em Dorival" [Santos draw in Libertadores' debut and keep pressure in Dorival] (in Portuguese). UOL Esporte. 9 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Santos define venda de Thiago Maia e empréstimo de Caju para o Lille" [Santos define transfer of Thiago Maia and loan of Caju to Lille] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 15 July 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "Subindo: Thiago Maia é convocado para a seleção brasileira sub-20" [Ascending: Thiago Maia is called up to the Brazil under-20 national team] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 26 December 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Neymar and Douglas Costa named in Brazil squad for Rio 2016". International Olympic Committee. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Primeiro atleta de Roraima, Thiago Maia dormiu em motel no início da carreira" [First athlete from Roraima, Thiago Maia slept at a motel in the start of career] (in Portuguese). Folha de S. Paulo. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 Thiago Maia at Soccerway. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  13. ↑ "Santos domina seleção do Paulistão; Audax emplaca dois e mais o técnico" [Santos dominate the Paulistão team of the year; Audax include two and the manager] (in Portuguese). Globo Esporte. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
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