Giovani dos Santos signed for Ipswich Town 15 years ago today. Ross Halls looks back at his brief but impressive loan spell at Portman Road....
The former Barcelona youth talent made a big impact in such a short space of time, joining on loan from Spurs at the end of the 2008/09 season.
Dos Santos was signed by Jim Magilton, who said: "Harry (Redknapp) was manager at Tottenham and I managed to kid the living daylights out of him and Gio to sign for us.
"He loved and embraced it as he wanted to play and was the star of the show - we loved him."
The Mexican made his debut as a second half sub in the 1-0 win at Reading and from the off showed his pace, skill and a willingness to run at players.
He would go on to mark his home debut with a memorable equaliser against Burnley, when he received the ball wide on the right before charging into the area, past a number of defenders, and unleashing an unstoppable shot into the net.
His next appearance saw him suffer a groin injury which ruled him out for a few weeks, before he returned and scored his second goal for the Blues late on at Bristol City.
The forward showed his nerve as Town were awarded a 95th minute penalty and he grabbed the ball before slamming it past the keeper to win a point.
Next up, he was the star of the show as he helped the Blues to the 3-2 win over Norwich City in the East Anglian derby at Portman Road.
I still remember his sublime first-time pass to play in Alan Quinn for the opening goal, before he stepped up for another penalty and calmly slotted home to restore their lead that day.
Following that win - the last Town win in the fixture - came the surprise sacking of Magilton.
Fiery Irishman Roy Keane was appointed the new manager, with dos Santos starting in the Irishman's first game away at Cardiff.
The Keane era got off to a superb start as the Blues won 3-0 in Ninian Park's last ever league game, with the Mexican in particular giving the Welsh side problems throughout.
His final appearance for Town came on the final day of the season as he opened the scoring in the 2-1 win over Coventry City at Portman Road.
It was another solo goal when he cut in from the right and curled home from 20 yards, a shot which took a deflection into the net to make it four goals in eight games.
After his spell at Town ended he said: "I want to thank the fans for supporting me. I love the fans here.
"It's been a great experience for me at Ipswich and I have learnt a lot in my time here."
He was light years ahead of everyone else in the division and it was unlikely he was going to return on loan again, but his efforts have regularly seen him branded as the club’s best-ever loanee.
It still seems surreal that a player as gifted as dos Santos featured for the club - he did some incredible things which mesmerised me as a young kid watching Town.
He never made the grade at Spurs but went on to have spells at Galatasaray, Racing Santander, Mallorca, Villarreal and MLS side LA Galaxy, before he finished his career in his native Mexico at America in 2021.
A player that some may say didn't hit his full potential - but he will always be remembered for his spell at Portman Road.
What are your memories of Gio? Let us know!
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