Volunteer assistant coach/director of soccer operations Marcelo Santos enters his fourth season with the Marquette men's soccer program in 2011.
Santos, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, previously has served as a full-time assistant coach with the Thunder Bay Chill of the USL's Premier Development League in 2007.
"He brings a diversity to our program with his Brazilian system and style of play," head coach Louis Bennett said of Santos. "He understands our formations and adds a different view point, a different angle. I want that element in our coaching staff, and we're happy to have him as part of our program. He's a proven winner. He's also proven he can work with collegiate athletes."
Santos helped coach the Chill to a division title in his first season with the team. Thunder Bay finished the 2007 season with a 10-3-3 record after posting a 2-11-3 mark the season prior to Santos' arrival. In 2008, the Chill won the USL-PDL Championship with a mark of 18-2-1. His duties with the Chill included executing training sessions, game analysis, recruitment of players, overseeing the youth program and team administration.
Hehas played professionally with three clubs of the former Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), including the Orlando Sharks, locally with the Milwaukee Wave and most recently with California Cougars. He also spent the 2004 season playing professional soccer in Sweden with Sandareds I.F.
Santos played with the Thunder Bay Chill from 2005-2006, while also playing futsal for World United F.C. in San Francisco, Calif., where he captured a U.S. National Championship in 2006.
After arriving in the United States in 2002, Santos played collegiately with Union College (Ky.), Alliant International University (Calif.) and at Holy Names University in Oakland, Calif. Santos began his coaching career as a senior at Holy Names, helping the head coach with team training and recruitment of student-athletes. He graduated from Holy Names with a bachelor's degree in business administration in May 2006.
