Alessandro Santos (三都主 アレサンドロ, Santosu Aresandoro, formerly Alessandro dos Santos), often known as Alex, is a former footballer who was born in Brazil and became a Japanese citizen who made 82 appearances for the Japan national team.
In 2001, Santos obtained Japanese citizenship. He made his first appearance for Japan national team on March 21, 2002 against Ukraine, and he was part of Philippe Troussier's selection for the 2002 World Cup. He was the second foreign-born person to play for Japan in the World Cup finals after Wagner Lopes, who played in the 1998 World Cup and also the fifth naturalized citizen to play for Japan after Daishiro Yoshimura, George Yonashiro, Ruy Ramos, and Lopes.
Since Zico took over as the national team manager, Alex was a constant on the left side of the Japanese lineup, as a fullback in 4-4-2 formation or midfielder in 3-5-2 formation. At 2004 Asian Cup, he played full time in all 6 matches and Japan won the champions. He was selected to Japan's 2006 World Cup squad in May 2006, providing an assist for Keiji Tamada in a group stage match against his former country Brazil. He played 82 games and scored 7 goals for Japan until 2006.
