Introduction
Thiago Maia Alencar (born 23 March 1997), known as Thiago Maia, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Santos, as a defensive midfielder.
Club career
Santos
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.
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. During the 2015 campaign, he proffited from the injury of Alison, establishing himself as a starter from June and earning plaudits for his performances.
On 22 August 2015 Thiago Maia scored his first professional goal, netting the second in a 5–2 home routing of Avaí. On 13 October, after lengthy negotiations, he renewed his contract until 2019.
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.
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.
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. He also became the first athlete from Roraima to appear in the tournament.
Career statistics
- As of 12 December 2016
| Club | Season | League | State League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Santos | 2014 | Série A | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2015 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 2 | ||||
| 2016 | 31 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 52 | 0 | ||||
| Subtotal | 60 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 0 | — | — | 90 | 2 | ||||
| Career total | 60 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 13 | 0 | — | — | 90 | 2 | ||||
Honours
Club
- Santos
- Campeonato Paulista: 2016
International
- Brazil
- Olympic Gold Medal: 2016
Individual
- Campeonato Paulista Team of the year: 2016
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- "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.