Afonso Alves Martins Júnior (born 30 January 1981), better known as Afonso Alves, is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a striker. He represented

Atlético Mineiro Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...

Örgryte Örgryte is one of the 21 ''stadsdelsnämndsområden'' (a kind of district often translated as borough) of Gothenburg Municipality, Sweden. It is a largely upper middle class residential area, just to the east of the city centre. It has a populati ...

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association, ...

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, fry, It Hearrenfean ) is a town and municipality in the province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the municipality had a population 50,859 (1 July). ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

Al-Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd (Qatar), Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, whic ...

Al-Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled as ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipality in the state of Qatar. Its primary settlement is the city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and largely surrounds Metropolitan Doha and funct ...

and

Al-Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الغرافة الرياضي) is a Qatari multisports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan. It is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. It was estab ...

during a career that spanned between 2001 and 2013. He won eight

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

and scored one goal for the Brazil national team, and helped his country win the 2007 Copa América.

Early life

Alves was born on 30 January 1981, in

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte (, ; ) is the sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population around 2.7 million and with a metropolitan area of 6 million people. It is the 13th-largest city in South America and the 18th-largest in the Americas. The metropol ...

, Brazil's third largest city. He was brought up by his mother, Dona Eliade, and has a brother, Alexsander, and sister, Alexandra. His father died when he was nine years old. Alves started his career with Brazilian side

. In 2002, he left Atlético Mineiro for the Swedish club

from

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. In 2004, he moved to

, where he won the Swedish League that year. He stayed for the 2005 season, scoring 14 in 24 games, becoming the club's top-scorer for the second year running when Malmö finished fifth. Alves was at Malmö for the start of the 2006 season, and scored three goals in seven matches.

Club career

Heerenveen

In Summer 2006, he moved to the Dutch club

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

of the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

for €4.5 million, which remains their highest-ever transfer fee paid. In his first season, he finished as top goalscorer of the

with 34 goals (in 31 games), which is a club record. Alves is the third Brazilian to become topscorer in the Dutch first division, joining former PSV strikers

Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...

and

Ronaldo Ronaldo is a Portuguese given name equivalent to the English Ronald. It became a common name in all Portuguese-speaking countries, being also prevalent in Italy and Spanish-speaking countries. People Notable people known as Ronaldo include: As ...

, and the second Brazilian who scored over 30 goals in the same competition, with Ronaldo netting 30 in the 1994–95 season. Other than finishing first in the scorers table, he was runner-up in the race for the

European Golden Boot The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. ...

, a single point behind

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council *Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

forward

Francesco Totti Francesco Totti (; born 27 September 1976) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played solely for A.S. Roma, Roma and the Italy national football team, Italy national team. He is often referred to as ''Er Bim ...

. On 7 October 2007, in only his second appearance of the season, Alves scored seven goals in his side's 9–0 victory over Eredivisie rivals

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

, setting a new

record for most goals scored in a single match. Heerenveen's manager (

Gertjan Verbeek Gertjan Verbeek (; born 1 August 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who last managed Eerste Divisie side Almere City. Coaching career Netherlands After retiring from his playing career in 1994, Verbeek stayed with SC Heerenveen as ...

) had already made three substitutions yet chose to take Alves off the pitch in the 89th minute to pay tribute to his fantastic performance. Despite his impressive track record, his departure was surrounded by some controversy after he did not show up at several training sessions, while still under contract at SC Heerenveen and some remarks he made, insinuating that teammates in the Brazilian national team laughed at him for playing for such a small club.

Middlesbrough

In the January transfer window of the 2007–08 season he moved to

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

on 31 January 2008. Alves' transfer fee was said to have been €12 million, on a four and a half year contract. He made his debut on 9 February, against

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

as a second-half substitute for

Lee Dong-Gook Lee Dong-gook (, ; born 29 April 1979) is a South Korean former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is a record scorer in the K League 1, and had brief spells in Europe with Werder Bremen and Middlesbrough. He also played for ...

. His first Middlesbrough start came on 27 February in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

home tie against

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

, when he was substituted in the 73 minute. Middlesbrough eventually won the game 1–0. His first two goals for Middlesbrough came at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

on 6 April against

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

in a 2–2 draw. He finished his first season in England with a hat-trick in an 8–1 home victory against

Manchester City Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...

. Alves' first goal of the 2008–09 season came on 30 August, where he scored a 25-yard free-kick which flew into the top corner of the

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

net. He then scored goals against Blackburn Rovers and a penalty against Manchester City, two against Barrow and one against local rivals

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

with a goal from 18 yards out. However, Alves could not find the form which led to his record move, and with a haul of just four league goals the season turned out to be a disappointing one for both him and Middlesbrough, who were relegated to the Championship.

Al-Sadd

On 4 September 2009, Alves moved to Al-Sadd on a three-year deal for £7 million. He scored 2 goals in 12 league matches, and scored one goal in the

Qatari Stars Cup The Qatari Stars Cup is a Qatari football competition played during the Qatar Stars League season known as Ooredoo Cup due to sponsorship reasons. The knockout competition, which involves a round-robin league structure, was first started in 2009 ...

after three games. Alves then accepted a loan bid from another

Qatari League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top level football league in Qatar football league system. Contested by 12 teams, it operates on a system of promotio ...

club,

Al-Rayyan SC Al-Rayyan Sports Club () is a Qatari multi-sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football, futsal, basketball, volleyball, handball, athletics, table tennis, and swimming. It is based at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Umm Al ...

Al-Rayyan

On 31 January 2010, Alves was loaned to the Qatari seven-time league champion

, coached by the Brazilian coach

Paulo Autuori Paulo Autuori de Mello (born 25 August 1956), known as Paulo Autuori, is a Brazilian football executive and manager who is the current manager of Atlético Nacional. Early life A football fan since early childhood and a futsal player, Paulo Au ...

. Alves scored 18 goals on his loan spell, 9 of them in seven matches of the

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

, and seven goals in seven league matches. He officially moved to Al-Rayyan in May 2010. Afonso Alves 2011

Alves officially moved to

for a further two years after winning the

2010 Emir of Qatar Cup The 2010 Emir of Qatar Cup is the 38th edition of a cup tournament in men's football (soccer). It is played by the 1st and 2nd Level divisions of the Qatari football league structure. The top four sides of the 2009–10 Qatar Stars League, 2009� ...

with Al Rayyan on 15 May 2010. Alves shortly emerged as a fan favorite, however he suffered a ligament injury in his left knee in December which kept him out of action for eight months. While recovering, he stated "Offers may’ve come to me during the transfer period, but I never bothered to listen to them and left them all to my agent. While recuperating from surgery, I remained in touch with coach Paulo (Autuori) and the club management, and kept them updated on my progress." He rejoined Al-Rayyan as their top striker and started the 2011–12 season in Al-Rayyan's starting eleven.

Al Gharafa and retirement

On 11 September 2012, he signed a one–year deal with QSL club

Al Gharafa Al-Gharafa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الغرافة الرياضي) is a Qatari multisports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan. It is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. It was estab ...

as their fourth professional player. Having been a free agent for over two seasons, Alves announced his retirement from professional football on his Instagram page on 5 October 2015. Alves had been training with the youth team of his former club Heerenveen the days before his decision to retire.

International career

On 17 May 2007, Alves received his first call-up for the Brazilian national team for friendlies against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. On 1 June, in the game against England, Alves was brought on to replace

Kaká Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (; born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká () or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. In his prime as a playmaker at AC Milan, a period marke ...

after 71 minutes of play and very nearly scored after a

Wes Brown Wesley Michael Brown (born 13 October 1979) is an English former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. Brown began his career with Manchester United F.C., Manchester United, jo ...

slip. He was also part of the Brazilian squad which won the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela. Alves scored his first international goal on 12 September 2007 against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in a 3–1 win.

Personal life

Alves left Brazil as a 21-year-old in 2002 to move to Sweden. He has a son, Felipe Henrique, who is a footballer at Atletico Mineiro's Tupinambas Academy, and lives with Alves' former girlfriend in Brazil.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Alves goal''.

Honours

Malmö FF *

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

Al-Rayyan *

Emir of Qatar Cup Emir of Qatar Cup ( ar, كأس أمير قطر), also known as the Emir Cup, but changed to Amir Cup starting in 2019, is an association football tournament played every season by 18 first and second division teams. The most successful is Al Sad ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Qatar Crown Prince Cup The Qatar Cup is a tournament in men's football. It is played by the top 4 teams of the Qatar Stars League The Qatar Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم قطر), or the QSL, also called QNB Stars League for sponsorship reasons, is the top l ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

;Brazil *

Copa América The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Individual *

top scorer: 2006–07 *

Dutch Footballer of the Year The title Dutch Footballer of the Year (Dutch: ''Voetballer van het Jaar'') has been awarded in the Netherlands since 1984. The award is determined by a poll of Dutch professional footballers playing in the First (Eredivisie) and Second (Eerste Divi ...

: 2007 *

top scorer:

References

External links

* * * *
Afonso Alves: Slavery And Racism In Holland?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alves, Afonso 1981 births Living people Footballers from Belo Horizonte Association football forwards Brazilian footballers Clube Atlético Mineiro players Örgryte IS players Malmö FF players SC Heerenveen players Middlesbrough F.C. players Al Sadd SC players Al-Rayyan SC players Al-Gharafa SC players Allsvenskan players Eredivisie players Premier League players Qatar Stars League players 2007 Copa América players Brazil international footballers Brazilian expatriate footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in England Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Sweden Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate footballers in Qatar Copa América-winning players