Ademir Bernardes Alcântara (born 17 December 1962) is a Brazilian retired

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 ...

who played as

attacking 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. ...

Career

Born in

Mandaguaçu Mandaguaçu is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the states of Brazil, state of Paraná (state), Paraná in the Southern Region, Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. See also *List of municipalities in Paraná References

Munici ...

Paraná Paraná, Paranã or Parana may refer to: Geology * Paraná Basin, a sedimentary basin in South America Places In Argentina *Paraná, Entre Ríos, a city * Paraná Department, a part of Entre Ríos Province In Brazil *Paraná (state), a state ...

, Alcântara started in Brazil lower leagues. After being top-scorer of the 1984

Campeonato Gaúcho The Campeonato Gaúcho (English: Gaúcho Championship), officially named as Campeonato Gaúcho de Futebol Série A and commonly known as the Gauchão or the Gauchão Ipiranga (company), Ipiranga for sponsorship reasons, is the top-flight profess ...

, he joined Internacional, staying two seasons before moving to Portugal, joining

Vitória 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 ...

. In Guimarães, in his first year, he partnered with

Paulinho Cascavel Paulo Roberto Bacinello (born 29 September 1959), commonly known as Paulinho Cascavel, is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a striker. He spent most of his professional career in Portugal, primarily with Vitória de Guimarães and S ...

to help

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

side overachieved for a final third place, and

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. His second year was even better, scoring 15 league goals as Guimarães nearly avoid relegation. Subsequently, he caught the eye of Portuguese powerhouses

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

and F.C. Porto. In what some consider, the beginning of the hatred rivalry between the two. Alcântara chose Benfica and Porto exacted revenge by signing Dito and Rui Àguas. He won the title in the first year

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 ...

, but lost his place to Valdo, after he was deemed too slow. After two seasons, he moved elsewhere, first in Boavista and then in Marítimo, where he was influential in helping the team qualify for the

1993–94 UEFA Cup The 1993–94 UEFA Cup was the 23rd season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. The final was played over two legs at the Ernst-Happel Stadion, Vienna, Austria, and at San Siro, Milan, Italy. The competition wa ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alcantara, Ademir 1962 births Living people Brazilian men's footballers Footballers from Paraná (state) Esporte Clube Pelotas players SC Internacional players Vitória S.C. players S.L. Benfica footballers Boavista F.C. players C.S. Marítimo players Primeira Liga players Mogi Mirim Esporte Clube players Coritiba Foot Ball Club players Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Men's association football midfielders 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen