# 2008 Santos FC season

The 2008 season was Santos Futebol Clube's ninety-sixth in existence and the club's forty-ninth consecutive season in the top flight of Brazilian football.
On 15 December 2007, Santos appointed Emerson Leão to coach the team for the third time. This was after the dismissal of Vanderlei Luxemburgo at the end of 2007 season. Later, Leão was fired due to bad results and for his place Cuca was signed. Cuca also didn't get good results and was fired on 7 August, replaced by Márcio Fernandes, who assumed the team as caretaker until the end of season.
Unlike the last two seasons, Santos did not get the Campeonato Paulista title, reaching the 7th position. Their Campeonato Brasileiro campaign was the worst of history, where they were almost relegated, ending in the 15th position, out of 20 teams. Santos advanced to quarter-finals of Copa Libertadores, but were eliminated by Mexican side Club América after a 1–2 aggregate loss.

## Players
### Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | BRA | Fábio Costa |
| — | GK | BRA | Felipe |
| — | GK | BRA | Douglas |
| — | DF | BRA | Fabiano Eller |
| — | DF | BRA | Adaílton |
| — | DF | BRA | Domingos |
| — | DF | BRA | Anderson Salles |
| — | DF | BRA | Fabão |
| — | DF | BRA | Kléber |
| — | DF | BRA | Fábio Santos |
| — | DF | BRA | Thiago Carleto |
| — | MF | BRA | Wendel |
| — | MF | BRA | Filipi Souza |
| — | DF | BRA | Pará |
| — | MF | BRA | Luiz Henrique |
| — | MF | BRA | Patrik |
| — | MF | COL | Molina |
| — | MF | ECU | Michael Quiñónez |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | BRA | Ganso |
| — | MF | BRA | Bida |
| — | MF | BRA | Róbson |
| — | FW | BRA | Wesley |
| — | MF | BRA | Roberto Brum |
| — | MF | BRA | Rodrigo Souto |
| — | MF | BRA | Adriano |
| — | MF | BRA | Díonísio |
| — | MF | BRA | Hudson |
| — | MF | BRA | Adoniran |
| — | MF | BRA | Michael |
| — | FW | PAR | Nelson Cuevas |
| — | FW | BRA | Tiago Luís |
| — | FW | BRA | Fabiano |
| — | FW | BRA | Reginaldo |
| — | FW | BRA | Maikon Leite |
| — | FW | BRA | Lima |
| — | FW | BRA | Kléber Pereira |

### Appearances and goals

| Pos. | Name | Campeonato Brasileiro | Campeonato Brasileiro | Campeonato Paulista | Campeonato Paulista | Copa Libertadores | Copa Libertadores | Total | Total |
| Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| GK | Douglas | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| GK | Fabio Costa | 18 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 45 | 0 |
| GK | Felipe | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Adaílton | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| DF | Anderson Salles | 0(1) | 0 | 2(3) | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Domingos | 27 | 0 | 10(2) | 0 | 6 | 1 | 45 | 1 |
| DF | Fabão | 14(2) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 6(1) | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| DF | Fabiano | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| DF | Fabiano Eller | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| DF | Fábio Santos | 3(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | Kléber | 31 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 47 | 3 |
| DF | Pará | 4(8) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| MF | Adriano | 16(5) | 0 | 11(2) | 0 | 5(1) | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| MF | Adoniran | 3(3) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| MF | Bida | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 2 |
| MF | Dionísio | 7(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| MF | Ganso | 2(1) | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| MF | Hudson | 2(2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Michael | 15(4) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| MF | Molina | 23(10) | 6 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 6 | 53 | 13 |
| MF | Patrik | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Roberto Brum | 17(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MF | Róbson | 6(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| MF | Rodrigo Souto | 25 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 9(1) | 0 | 49 | 2 |
| MF | Wendel | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| FW | Fabiano | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Kléber Pereira | 33(1) | 21 | 16 | 13 | 10 | 6 | 60 | 40 |
| FW | Lima | 8(14) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 2 |
| FW | Maikon Leite | 7(3) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 |
| FW | Cuevas | 14(3) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 2 |
| FW | Quiñónez | 3(5) | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1(4) | 1 | 15 | 1 |
| FW | Reginaldo | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Tiago Luís | 3(10) | 1 | 5(2) | 1 | 0(3) | 0 | 23 | 2 |
| FW | Wesley | 6(13) | 0 | 10(1) | 1 | 8(1) | 0 | 39 | 1 |
| Players who left the club during the season ||||||||||
| DF | Apodi | 9(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| DF | Betão | 5 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| DF | Carlinhos | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| DF | Dênis | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| DF | Evaldo | 0(1) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0(2) | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| DF | Filipi Souza | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| DF | Marcelo | 16 | 0 | 3(3) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| DF | Thiago Carleto | 4(5) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| DF | Vinicius Simon | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| MF | Alex William | 0 | 0 | 1(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| MF | Luiz Henrique | 0 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| MF | Marcinho Guerreiro | 5 | 0 | 11(3) | 3 | 10 | 0 | 29 | 3 |
| MF | Rodrigo Tabata | 3(3) | 0 | 6(5) | 1 | 2(2) | 0 | 21 | 1 |
| MF | Vitor Júnior | 0(1) | 0 | 1(5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| FW | Alemão | 0 | 0 | 2(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| FW | Moraes | 0(1) | 1 | 1(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| FW | Renatinho | 0 | 0 | 5(7) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| FW | Sebastián Pinto | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| FW | Tripodí | 0(2) | 0 | 3(2) | 0 | 1(5) | 1 | 13 | 1 |
Source: Match reports in Competitive matches

### Top scorers

| R | Name | Brasileirão | Paulistão | Libertadores | Total |
| 1 | Kleber Pereira | 21 | 13 | 6 | 40 |
| 2 | Molina | 6 | 1 | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | Kléber | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Marcinho Guerreiro | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Maikon Leite | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Nelson Cuevas | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Bida | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Betão | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Renatinho | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Lima | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Tiago Luís | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 | Rodrigo Souto | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Source: Match reports in Competitive matches

### Disciplinary record

| P | Name | Brasileirão | Brasileirão | Libertadores | Libertadores | Paulistão | Paulistão | Total | Total |
| GK | Douglas | 2 | | | | | | 2 | |
| GK | Fábio Costa | 3 | | | | 1 | | 4 | |
| DF | Adaílton | 2 | | | | 3 | | 5 | |
| DF | Betão | 2 | | 1 | | 2 | | 5 | |
| DF | Domingos | 11 | | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 3 |
| DF | Evaldo | | | 1 | | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| DF | Fabão | 3 | | 1 | | | | 4 | |
| DF | Fabiano Eller | 4 | 1 | | | | | 4 | 1 |
| DF | Marcelo | 4 | | | | 1 | | 5 | |
| DF | Apodi | 4 | | | | | | 4 | |
| DF | Anderson Salles | | | 1 | | 1 | | 2 | |
| DF | Dênis | | | | | 1 | | 1 | |
| DF | Fabiano | 1 | | | | | | 1 | |
| DF | Pará | 1 | | | | | | 1 | |
| DF | Kléber | 4 | | 1 | | 3 | | 8 | |
| DF | Fábio Santos | 1 | | | | 1 | | 2 | |
| DF | Thiago Carleto | 2 | | | | 2 | | 4 | |
| MF | Adoniran | 2 | | | | | | 2 | |
| MF | Adriano | 4 | | 1 | | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| MF | Bida | 3 | | | | | | 3 | |
| MF | Dionísio | 4 | | | | | | 4 | |
| MF | Hudson | 1 | | | | 1 | | 2 | |
| MF | Molina | 2 | | 2 | | 1 | | 5 | |
| MF | Michael | 6 | | | | | | 6 | |
| MF | Marcinho Guerreiro | 5 | | 1 | | 5 | | 11 | |
| MF | Quiñónez | 2 | | 1 | | | | 3 | |
| MF | Roberto Brum | 5 | | | | | | 5 | |
| MF | Rodrigo Souto | 6 | | 1 | | 3 | | 10 | |
| MF | Rodrigo Tabata | | | | | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| MF | Wendel | 2 | | | | | | 2 | |
| FW | Alemão | | | | | 1 | | 1 | |
| FW | Kléber Pereira | 6 | | 2 | | 3 | | 11 | |
| FW | Maikon Leite | 3 | | | | | | 3 | |
| FW | Mariano Trípodi | | | 1 | | | | 1 | |
| FW | Nelson Cuevas | 1 | | | | | | 1 | |
| FW | Tiago Luís | 1 | | 1 | | | | 2 | |
| FW | Vítor Júnior | | | | | 1 | | 1 | |
| FW | Wesley | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | | 6 | 2 |
Source: Match reports in Competitive matches

## Kit

The kits for the 2008 season were revealed on 3 March 2008 bearing the Semp Toshiba logo. The main novelty was the third shirt, with navy blue, based on the first model used by the club in 1912.
| Home | Away | Third |

## Transfers
### In

| P | Name | Age | Moving from | Type |
| DF | Betão | 24 | Corinthians | Signed |
| MF | Marcinho Guerreiro | 27 | Metalurh Donetsk | Loaned |
| FW | Trípodi | 20 | San Martín | Signed |
| FW | Sebastian Pinto | 24 | Universidad de Chile | Signed |
| FW | Lima | 24 | Astral | Loaned |
| MF | Molina | 28 | Red Star Belgrade | Signed |
| MF | Quiñónez | 23 | ESPOLI | Signed |
| DF | Evaldo | 25 | FC Tokyo | Loaned |
| GK | Douglas | 25 | Sertãozinho | Signed |
| MF | Luiz Henrique | 22 | Paulista | Signed |
| DF | Fabão | 31 | Kashima Antlers | Signed |
| DF | Fabiano | 26 | Itabaiana | Signed |
| FW | Fabiano | 23 | Sport | Loan Return |
| MF | Bida | 23 | Vitória | Loaned |
| MF | Robinho | 20 | Mogi Mirim | Signed |
| DF | Apodi | 21 | Cruzeiro | Loaned |
| DF | Fabiano Eller | 30 | Atlético Madrid | Signed |
| FW | Maikon Leite | 19 | Santo André | Signed |
| MF | Michael | 25 | Dynamo Kyiv | Loaned |
| MF | Roberto Brum | 29 | Braga | Signed |
| DF | Fábio Santos | 22 | AS Monaco | Loaned |
| DF | Pará | 22 | Santo André | Signed |
| FW | Nelson Cuevas | 28 | Libertad | Signed |
| DF | Wendel | 26 | Palmeiras | Loaned |
| FW | Reginaldo | 26 | Sport | Signed |

### Out

| P | Name | Age | Moving to | Type |
| FW | Geílson | 23 | Atlético–PR | Contract terminated |
| FW | Luciano Henrique | 28 | Sport | End of contract |
| DF | Baiano | 29 | Free Agent | End of contract |
| MF | Petković | 35 | Free Agent | End of contract |
| DF | Leonardo | 22 | Shakhtar Donetsk | Loan expiration |
| DF | Antônio Carlos | 38 | | Retirement |
| FW | Marcos Aurélio | 24 | Shimizu S-Pulse | End of contract |
| MF | Alex William | 20 | Free Agent | End of contract |
| MF | Pedrinho | 30 | Al Ain FC | End of contract |
| DF | Dênis | 24 | Free Agent | Contract terminated |
| MF | Maldonado | 28 | Fenerbahçe | Transferred |
| FW | Alemão | 19 | Udinese | End of contract |
| DF | Alessandro | 29 | Corinthians | End of contract |
| DF | Betão | 24 | Dynamo Kyiv | Swapped |
| FW | Renatinho | 20 | Rentistas | Contract terminated |
| FW | Sebastián Pinto | 22 | Free Agent | Contract terminated |
| MF | Rodrigo Tabata | 27 | Gaziantepspor | Transferred |
| MF | Luiz Henrique | 22 | Free Agent | Contract terminated |
| DF | Evaldo | 25 | Coritiba | Contract terminated |
| MF | Marcinho Guerreiro | 27 | Metalurh Donetsk | Loan expiration |
| DF | Marcelo | 20 | Wisła Kraków | End of contract |
| DF | Apodi | 21 | São Caetano | Contract terminated |
| DF | Thiago Carleto | 19 | Valencia | Transferred |
| FW | Moraes | 21 | Santo André | End of contract |

### Out on loan

| P | Name | Age | Moving to |
| FW | Moraes | 19 | Ponte Preta |
| DF | Carlinhos | 21 | Cruzeiro |
| FW | Vitor Júnior | 21 | Kawasaki Frontale |
| DF | Vinicius Simon | 21 | Boavista |
| FW | Mariano Trípodi | 20 | Vitória |
| DF | Filipi Souza | 21 | Oeste |

## Competitions
### Overall summary

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Campeonato Brasileiro | — | 15th | 11 May | 7 December |
| Campeonato Paulista | First stage | 7th | 16 January | 6 April |
| Copa Libertadores | Group stage | Quarter-finals | 13 February | 22 May |
Updated to match played 7 December 2008 Source: Competitions

### Detailed overall summary

| | Total | Home | Away |
| Games played | 67 | 34 | 33 |
| Games won | 26 | 21 | 5 |
| Games drawn | 17 | 8 | 9 |
| Games lost | 24 | 5 | 19 |
| Biggest win | 7–0 v San José | 7–0 v San José | 2–0 v Cúcuta |
| Biggest loss | 1–5 v Coritiba | 0–4 v Goiás | 1–5 v Coritiba |
| Clean sheets | 25 | 15 | 10 |
| Goals scored | 90 | 67 | 23 |
| Goals conceded | 84 | 32 | 52 |
| Goal difference | +6 | +35 | -29 |
| Average GF per game | 1.34 | 1.97 | 0.7 |
| Average GA per game | 1.25 | 0.94 | 1.58 |
| Most appearances | Kléber Pereira (60) | – | – |
| Top scorer | Kléber Pereira (40) | – | – |
| Worst discipline | Domingos (17) (3) | – | – |
| Points | 95/201 (47.26%) | 71/102 (69.61%) | 24/99 (24.24%) |
| Winning rate | (38.81%) | (61.76%) | (15.15%) |
Last updated: 7 December 2008 Source: Competitive matches

### Campeonato Brasileiro
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 13 | Atlético Paranaense | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 45 | 54 | −9 | 45 | Copa Sudamericana 2009 |
| 14 | Fluminense | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 49 | 48 | +1 | 45 | Copa Sudamericana 2009 |
| 15 | Santos | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 44 | 53 | −9 | 45 | |
| 16 | Náutico | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 44 | 54 | −10 | 44 | |
| 17 | Figueirense | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 49 | 72 | −23 | 44 | Relegation to Série B |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 December 2008. Source: Competitive matches

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H |
| Result | L | W | L | D | L | D | L | D | L | D | D | L | W | L | W | W | L | L | L | D | D | W | D | W | W | L | D | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | W | L | D | D |
| Position | 17 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 15 |

#### Matches
### Campeonato Paulista
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 6 April 2008. Source: Competitive matches

#### First stage
##### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Corinthians | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 24 | 15 | +9 | 33 | |
| 6 | Barueri | 19 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 34 | 24 | +10 | 32 | Qualification for Campeonato do Interior |
| 7 | Santos | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 31 | |
| 8 | Mirassol | 19 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 29 | Qualification for Campeonato do Interior |
| 9 | Noroeste | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 29 | Qualification for Campeonato do Interior |

##### Matches
### Copa Libertadores
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Cúcuta Deportivo | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 11 |
| 2 | Santos | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 10 |
| 3 | Guadalajara | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 |
| 4 | San José | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 4 |