One after another, from his Blast teammates to the coach to the general manager, everybody says the same thing about veteran defender Adriano Dos Santos.

The cliches vary, but the message is the same: Dos Santos always leaves it all out on the field for the team. Always.

Asked about the compliments he’s received, he shows another reason he is loved and respected by the team and its fans, sidetracking the question with a quick-witted joke that’s followed by a welcoming laugh: “I just got good friends, I guess.”

But seriously.

“I always work hard, do my best every day because this is what I love to do,” said Dos Santos, a native of Brazil in his seventh season. “It doesn’t make any sense for me to come here and be casual, to just come and get the paycheck. This is where I have fun, it’s where I can forget the problems I have, so I think I have good coaches, good friends, and it means a lot to me to play here.”

Brazil has been a productive pipeline of talent for the Blast with seven natives currently on the roster. Dos Santos, 29, who was signed by the team in 2009 and started as a developmental player not on the active roster, is now the team’s senior Brazilian player and has emerged as a leader. The defending Major Arena Soccer League champions have won two crowns in his time and have reached the title series the past five years. This season, the Blast are again in first place in the Eastern Division at 10-5 as they get set to host the Syracuse Silver Knights (6-10) twice this weekend. The first game is 7:35 tonight with the second Sunday at 4:05 p.m.

There’s no doubt, Dos Santos will be ready.

“With Adriano, it’s the passion and the emotion that he brings to the game that is so crucial to what we need to be successful. He’s been a major part of us winning championships,” Blast coach Danny Kelly said. “He brings that emotion and energy, that will, that heart which you don’t see very often, but you try to demand from players. For him, it just comes so naturally — he wants to win so badly. Like I said the other day in practice, I’d take 15 Adrianos because I know he’s going to give me a chance to win every game we play.”

Raised in Rio de Janeiro by his father and grandparents, Dos Santos came over in 2008 to live with his mother in Miami. He found his way to the Blast from a beach in Virginia. He was playing in a sand soccer tournament and ended up on the same team as former Blast stars and fellow Brazilians Denison Cabral and Sagu. The two encouraged him to attend an open tryout the Blast hold regularly before each season, and the good impression he made has been lasting. Dos Santos began his career as a forward, but moved to defense at the start of the 2015-16 season. At 6 feet 3, he quickly adjusted to the back line with skills to also contribute on offense. This season, he has 15 blocked shots, two goals and four assists for the league’s best defense, allowing 3.3 goals per game.

And just like how Cabral and Sagu looked after him when he was new to the team, Dos Santos understands it’s his turn to make sure the younger players succeed. He helps with positive words, helpful criticism and, mostly, by the way he plays.

“Sometimes you don’t always know what a player is going to bring when they are coming on the field, but you always know what Adriano will bring,” Blast goalie William Vanzela said. “He brings a lot of energy and he’s a leader on the team, so we look up to see how he plays and we try to follow his lead.”

Dos Santos is happy to call Baltimore home. He lives in Dundalk, where his wife of five years, Julie, is from. They have two boys: Benjamin, 4, is beginning to gravitate toward soccer, and 2-year-old Dominic is not far behind. They love going to see their dad play for the Blast at Royal Farms Arena.

But Dos Santos also respects and is proud of where he came from. Growing up in Rio, gym time at school meant playing soccer. There also was a lot of soccer played in the neighborhood, but the streets were tough.

“My neighborhood made me like I am and it was not easy at all,” he said. “I learned from the streets and grew up with my grandma and grandpa and learned from them. They always told me when I do something, do my best and try to be the best you can. So that ’s how I try to live every day.”

glenn.graham@baltsun.com

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