Geraldo Francisco dos Santos (11 June 1962 – 29 July 2021), nicknamed Zizinho, was a Brazilian professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

Career

Born in São Paulo, started his career with São Paulo FC, being the youngest player and goal scorer of the club in 1978, aged only 15 years and 311 days. Began his professional career in Mexico in 1980 with América. He also played for León and Necaxa, making a total of 135 appearances, scoring 27 goals, in the Primera División de México. Dos Santos played in MISL for Los Angeles Lazers for the 1986 and 1987 seasons. He later played for Monterrey La Raza, an indoor team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League, between 1993 and 1997.

Personal life

Dos Santos had three sons, who were also all footballers - Éder (born 1984), Giovani (born 1989) and Jonathan (born 1990). He died from COVID-19 on 29 July 2021, at the age of 59.