Álvaro Daniel Pereira Barragán (; born 28 November 1985) is a Uruguayan 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 lea ...

. Mainly a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

, he could perform equally as a

left midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. After starting out at

Miramar Misiones Club Sportivo Miramar Misiones, usually known simply as Miramar Misiones is a Uruguayan football club based in Montevideo. The club was formed from the merger of two clubs: Miramar (founded on October 17, 1915) and Misiones (founded on March 26, ...

he went on to play for a host of teams in several countries, mainly

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

, winning eight major titles with the former club while appearing in 118 competitive matches (three goals). A Uruguay international since 2008, Pereira represented his country in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

and three

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

s, earning 83

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 winning the 2011 edition of the latter tournament.

Club career

Early years

Born in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

, Pereira began his career with

in 2003, moving to Argentina with

Quilmes Atlético Club Quilmes Atlético Club () is an Argentine sports club based in the Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Quilmes district of Greater Buenos Aires. Established in 1887 (although the date of foundation is still under dispute), Quilmes is the oldest club of Arg ...

two years later. After the latter's relegation from the Primera División at the end of the 2006–07 season he joined

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its association football, football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was reco ...

, finishing as the team's top goalscorer in the 2007 Apertura. In the middle of 2008, Pereira signed with Romania's

CFR Cluj Fotbal Club CFR 1907 Cluj, commonly known as CFR Cluj ( or ) or simply CFR, is a Romanian professional association football, football club based in the city of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, that competes in the Liga I. Founded as ''Kolozsvári Vasut ...

for a

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

2.5 million fee. He started in all the club's matches in its debut campaign in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

Porto

Pereira joined

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

on 4 June 2009 for a reported €4.5 million, with the Portuguese acquiring 80% of the player's rights. In his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

he mostly operated as a

, as the northerners finished third and won the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

. He scored his first goal for the club on 21 February 2010, netting the second in a 5–1 home win over S.C. Braga. In Pereira's second season at the

Estádio do Dragão The Estádio do Dragão (; ') is an all-seater football stadium in Porto, Portugal, and the home ground of FC Porto since 2003. It has a seating capacity of 50,033, making it the third-largest football stadium in Portugal. Designed by Portugue ...

, he featured in 21

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

games (all starts), adding 12

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

appearances as Porto won

the treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A continental treble involves winning the club's top-level domestic league competition, main domestic cup competition, and main continental tro ...

. He also started in that campaign's Portuguese Cup final against

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

on 22 May 2011, scoring an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

in the 21st minute to bring the sides level in an eventual 6–2 victory. After Porto rejected an offer from

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side Chelsea in the summer for Pereira, he signed a new contract on 3 October 2011 running until 2016, with his release clause remaining at £25.7 million. In late December, he heavily criticised

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. He was named in the P ...

for reporting alleged racist abuse from Pereira's national team colleague

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

– including a claim from Evra that Suárez "doesn't speak to black players" – saying that "what happens on the pitch stays on the pitch", adding that the Frenchman would have to "wear body armour" if the players' future international friendly was to take place immediately instead of in late 2012.

Inter Milan

Pereira signed for

in late August 2012 for €10 million on a four-year contract, reuniting with former Porto teammate Fredy Guarín. He made his

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

debut on 2 September in a 1–3 home loss against

A.S. Roma Associazione Sportiva Roma (''Rome Sport Association''; Italian pronunciation: ) is a professional football club based in Rome, Italy. Founded by a merger in 1927, Roma has participated in the top tier of Italian football for all of its exis ...

, and finished his first season with 40 appearances in all competitions, scoring his only goal in a 2–0 league victory at

A.C. ChievoVerona Associazione Calcio ChievoVerona, commonly referred to as ChievoVerona or simply Chievo (, ), is an Italian football club named after and representing Chievo, a suburb of 4,500 inhabitants in Verona, Veneto. It is owned since 2024 by the tea ...

. On 17 January 2014,

São Paulo FC São Paulo Futebol Clube () is a professional Association football, football club in the Morumbi, São Paulo, Morumbi district of São Paulo, Brazil. It plays in Campeonato Paulista, São Paulo (state), São Paulo's premier State football lea ...

signed Pereira on loan for one and a half years, with an option to make the move permanent. He played his first match with his new club nine days later, a 2–1 win against

Oeste Futebol Clube Oeste Futebol Clube, commonly referred to as simply Oeste, is a Brazilian association football club based in Barueri, São Paulo. They currently play in the Campeonato Paulista Série A2, the second division of the São Paulo state football le ...

for that year's

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

, assisting Antônio Carlos in the second goal; after the match, he stated he "...liked the team's intensity", further adding he still needed to "...improve a lot."

Estudiantes

In January 2015, Pereira returned to Argentina to join

Estudiantes de La Plata ( lit. "La Plata Students"), simply referred to as Estudiantes de La Plata, is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Plata. The club's football team currently competes in the Primera División, where it has spent most of its histo ...

in a temporary deal, with an obligation to sign for €2.752 million. He appeared in 36 matches across all competitions in his first year, scoring three goals – including one in a 1–1 draw with

San Martín de San Juan Club Atlético San Martín, mostly known as San Martín de San Juan, is an Argentine football club from the city of San Juan. The team currently plays in the Argentine Liga Profesional de Futbol, the first division of the Argentine football league ...

in the

Copa Argentina The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The first editions ...

that ended in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory. However, in his last appearance, an exhibition game against neighbouring

Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (; ''La Plata Gymnastics and Fencing Club''), also known simply as Gimnasia, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the city of La Plata, Buenos Aires Province. Founded in 1887 as "Club de Gimnasia ...

which eventually turned into a massive brawl, he assaulted opponent Facundo Oreja with a kick to the face which saw him

sent off In sports, an ejection (also known as dismissal, sending-off, disqualification, or early shower) is the removal of a participant from a contest due to a violation of the sport's rules. The exact violations that lead to an ejection vary depending ...

; he was eventually handed an eight-match ban, which he served at his following club

Getafe CF Getafe Club de Fútbol S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Getafe, a city in the Community of Madrid. They compete in La Liga, the top tier of the Football in Spain, Spanish football. The team has pla ...

, where he arrived in February 2016 on loan until June. Pereira played his first match for the Spaniards on 1 March 2016, being ejected after two bookable offences midway through the second half of a 4–0 defeat at

UD Las Palmas Unión Deportiva Las Palmas S.A.D. is a professional association football, football club based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain. The club will compete in Segunda División, the 2nd division in the Spanish football league syst ...

Later career

On 3 July 2016, Pereira signed a one-year loan contract with

Cerro Porteño Club Cerro Porteño is a professional Paraguayan Association football, football club, based in the neighbourhood of Obrero (Asunción), Obrero in Asunción. Founded in 1912, Cerro has won 34 Paraguayan Primera División, Primera División titles ...

of the

Paraguayan Primera División The División Profesional de la Paraguayan Football Association, Asociación Paraguaya de Fútbol (; "Professional Division of the Paraguayan Football Association"), also known as the Primera División (; "first division"), or due to sponsorship ...

. During his spell in Barrio Obrero, he dealt with several injury problems. Pereira returned to his country's and its Primera División in late January 2019, with the 33-year-old joining

Club Nacional de Football Club Nacional de Football (, ''National Football Club'') is a Uruguayan professional sports club based in La Blanqueada, La Blanqueada, Montevideo. The club was founded on 14 May 1899 as a result of the merger between ''Uruguay Athletic Club'' an ...

still on loan from Estudiantes. On his debut on 4 February, he was sent off for a second

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative co ...

at the end of

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

as the club won the

Supercopa Uruguaya The Supercopa Uruguaya (''Uruguayan Supercup'') is an annual one-match football official competition in Uruguay organised by the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) which is played between the Primera División champions and the Torneo Intermedio ...

on penalties against rivals

Peñarol Club Atlético Peñarol (), more commonly referred to as Peñarol, is a Uruguayan professional football club based in Montevideo. The club currently competes in the Uruguayan Primera División, the highest tier in Uruguayan football. The nam ...

. Having played only eight competitive games during his tenure, Pereira became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

and returned to Paraguay, signing for

Club River Plate (Asunción) Club River Plate, mostly known as River Plate or internationally as River Plate Asunción, is a Paraguayan football club from the neighbourhood of Mburicaó, in Asunción; founded in 1911. The club has been playing in the lower divisions of ...

in January 2020. On 7 October that year he came back to Europe, by joining

ŠKF Sereď ŠKF Sereď () is a Slovak football team, based in the town of Sereď, that plays in the 3rd tier 3. Liga, of the Slovakian league system. It was founded as Sereďský športový klub in 1914. The club won the Slovak 2. Liga in 2017–18, thereb ...

in the

Slovak Super Liga The Slovak First Football League (), officially known as Niké liga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Slovakia and the highest level of the Football in Slovakia, Slovak football league system. It was formed ...

. He only totalled seven minutes against

FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce – Vráble is a Slovakia, Slovak Association football, football team, based in the town of Zlaté Moravce. The club was founded on 22 January 1995. History From the club's establishment in 1995 until 2004, they played i ...

before contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, and left shortly after.

International career

Pereira made his debut for

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, on 19 November 2008. He scored his first international goal in his next match, another friendly, with

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

(3–2 win). Pereira was an undisputed starter for the nation during the second half of the

2010 FIFA World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

qualifiers, also starting in both legs of the successful playoffs against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

as the ''Charrúas'' returned to the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

. In the finals in South Africa he played all the matches except two, scoring through a rare header in a 3–0 group stage victory over the hosts. Pereira was selected to the

2011 Copa América The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international association football, football tournament for national ...

in Argentina, being first-choice and scoring two goals in the group stage, including the game's only against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

as Uruguay won its 15th continental tournament. In 2013, he represented ''La Celeste'' at the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

as the nation reached the semi-finals, and also participated in the team's successful World Cup qualifying campaign. On 2 June 2014, Pereira was named in Uruguay's squad for the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

finals. On 19 June, in the second group game against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he was struck unconscious after being kneed in the head by

Raheem Sterling Raheem Shaquille Sterling (born 8 December 1994) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Winger (association football), winger for club Chelsea F.C., Chelsea. Sterling began his career at Queens Park Rangers F.C., Que ...

, but refused to be replaced after recovering and went on to feature the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 win. At the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

in Chile, Pereira was suspended for the quarter-final against the hosts, and his team lost by a single goal. The following year, at the next edition in the United States, he only played the first group game, in which he scored an

in a 3–1 loss to

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

Honours

CFR Cluj *

Cupa României The Cupa României () is a Association football, football cup competition for List of football clubs in Romania, Romanian teams which has been held annually since 1933–34 Cupa României, 1933–34, except during World War II. It is the Romania ...

: 2008–09 Porto *

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2011–12 *

: 2009–10,

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

runner-up: 2009–10 Cerro Porteño *

: 2017 Clausura Nacional *

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Uruguay *

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pereira, Alvaro 1985 births Living people African diaspora in Uruguay Uruguayan men's footballers Footballers from Montevideo Men's association football fullbacks Men's association football midfielders Uruguayan Primera División players Miramar Misiones players Club Nacional de Football players Argentine Primera División players Quilmes Atlético Club footballers Argentinos Juniors footballers Estudiantes de La Plata footballers Liga I players CFR Cluj players Primeira Liga players FC Porto players Serie A players Inter Milan players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players São Paulo FC players La Liga players Getafe CF footballers Paraguayan Primera División players Cerro Porteño players Club River Plate (Asunción) footballers Slovak First Football League players ŠKF Sereď players Venezuelan Primera División players Estudiantes de Mérida F.C. players UEFA Europa League–winning players Uruguay men's international footballers 2010 FIFA World Cup players 2011 Copa América players 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 Copa América players Copa América Centenario players Copa América–winning players Uruguayan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Argentina Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Paraguay Expatriate men's footballers in Slovakia Expatriate men's footballers in Venezuela Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Romania Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Spain Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Paraguay Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Uruguayan expatriate sportspeople in Venezuela