Paulo Lourenço Martins Alves (born 10 December 1969) is a Portuguese 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 ...

who played as a centre-forward, currently a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He amassed

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 ...

totals of 301 matches and 78 goals over 13 seasons, mainly with Gil Vicente (five years). He also represented in the competition Marítimo,

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

(three apiece) União de Leiria (two) and

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

. Internationally, he won the FIFA World Youth Championship in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

and was part of the Olympic team that came fourth in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, also being a senior international in the mid-1990s. Alves started coaching in 2005, and went on to be in charge of several clubs, including Gil (in several spells). He managed them and

Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association First Division, the fifth tier of ...

in the top-flight, and eight teams in the second tier, winning the latter with Gil and Moreirense.

Playing career

Club

Born in

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the Norte, Portugal, North region, Portugal. It is also the seat of the Douro (intermunicipal community), Douro Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, intermunicipal comm ...

, Alves moved from local club S.C. Vila Real to

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 ...

's youth ranks at 17, but was unsuccessful there, moving to Gil Vicente FC. After spells with F.C. Tirsense, C.S. Marítimo (twice) and S.C. Braga, Alves joined

giants

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, being relatively used during his three-year stay. He also played in England with

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

, but managed just four substitute appearances in a three-month spell. Upon his return to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, he notably scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 5–3 win at S.C. Campomaiorense. In the summer of 1998, Alves signed a three-year deal at

SC Bastia Sporting Club Bastia (, commonly referred to as SC Bastia or simply Bastia) is a French professional association football, football club based in Bastia on the island of Corsica. The club plays in Ligue 2, the second tier of Football in France, ...

in the French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

, for a fee of €400,000. He scored on his debut as a late replacement in a 3–0 home victory over

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

, but added only two more goals in his one year in

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

. He then spent two seasons with U.D. Leiria, netting six times in 27 matches in 2000–01 to help the club to its best-ever finish in the top flight, a fifth position. His second stint at Gil Vicente saw him finish as team top scorer for the 2001–02 campaign, with 11 goals from 27 appearances. Alves retired in June 2005, at the age of 35.

International

Alves helped

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

win the

1989 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Saudi Arabia between 16 February and 3 March 1989. The 1989 championship was the 7th contested. The tournament took place across four cities: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Ta' ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

– in the group stage opener against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, he scored a last-minute header (his strongest asset) for the game's only goal. Later in his career he also managed 13

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for the full side, scoring seven times, mostly during the

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

qualifying stage 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 ...

and friendlies within that period. His first goals came as a brace as a substitute on 18 December 1994 in an 8–0 qualifying win over

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

, and three more the following 15 August in a 7–0 victory in the reverse fixture, again off the bench. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

in the United States, Alves helped his team finish fourth in the football event. He scored to open a 1–1 draw with the hosts in the final group game at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium.

Coaching career

Alves took up coaching immediately after retiring, precisely with the Barcelos club. In 2008 he joined another team he played for, Leiria, also in the Segunda Liga. Due to poor results in the 2008–09 season, Alves was sacked by União de Leiria, but stayed in that league by moving to F.C. Vizela. In the following summer he rejoined former Sporting teammate Oceano's coaching staff at the Portugal under-21 side, while also being charged with the under-20s; after a handful of games he resigned and returned to Gil Vicente, winning the 2011 second-division championship with the subsequent promotion. After three years, which also brought a runner-up place in the

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 ...

, Alves replaced former national teammate Abel Xavier at the helm of

S.C. Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its Association football, football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association Portuguese Di ...

early into the 2013–14 campaign, being dismissed after less than three months in charge and with only one point won in six league matches. Alves returned to management in December 2014, taking the helm at S.C. Beira-Mar, 14th in the second tier. The team suffered with serious financial problems over the season, and were sent to the Aveiro Football Association's second division as a punishment. On 3 December 2015, Alves was appointed at F.C. Penafiel until the end of the division two season, having been working in Iran for F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran. He remained in the job until being hired by

C.F. União Clube de Futebol União, commonly known as União da Madeira, was a Portuguese association football, football club based in Funchal, Madeira, notable for its six season in the Portuguese top-flight Primeira Liga, between the 1989–90 Primeira D ...

for 2017–18, being relieved of his duties on 2 October with the side placed 12th. He returned to Gil Vicente halfway through the campaign, and left on 23 February 2018 by mutual agreement having not won any of his seven fixtures. After a few months back in the Middle East with

Ohod Club Ohod Club () is a Saudi Arabian professional football club based in Medina, which competes in the Saudi First Division League. History Ohod was named after Mount Uhud, hence the nickname "Al-Jabal". Ohod have won the Saudi First Division three t ...

of Saudi Arabia, Alves returned to the Portuguese second tier in June 2019, at Varzim SC. He was dismissed on 18 October 2020, after three consecutive defeats in a five-game winless run. On 8 June 2022, Alves was hired by newly relegated

Moreirense FC Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaqui ...

. He helped the club through their League Cup group, at the expense of national leaders S.L. Benfica on goals scored. He also won the second tier, confirming it with a 4–2 away victory over second-placed C.F. Estrela da Amadora. After achieving this, he left the

Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas is a multi-use stadium in Moreira de Cónegos, Braga, Portugal. It is currently used for football (soccer), football matches and is the home stadium of Moreirense F.C., Moreirense. The stadi ...

. On 22 December 2023, Alves was appointed as manager of Primera Federación club CD Lugo. He was sacked less than two months later.

Career statistics

International goals

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Sporting CP *

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 ...

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Portugal *

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

Manager

Gil Vicente * Liga de Honra: 2010–11 *

runner-up: 2011–12 Moreirense *

Liga Portugal 2 The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier Pr ...

: 2022–23 Individual *Liga Portugal 2 Manager of the Season: 2022–23 *Liga Portugal 2 Manager of the Month: August 2022, September 2022, March 2023

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alves, Paulo 1969 births Living people 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Vila Real, Portugal Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Gil Vicente F.C. players F.C. Tirsense players C.S. Marítimo players S.C. Braga players Sporting CP footballers U.D. Leiria players Premier League players West Ham United F.C. players Ligue 1 players SC Bastia players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers Olympic footballers for Portugal Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in France Portuguese football managers Primeira Liga managers Liga Portugal 2 managers Gil Vicente F.C. managers U.D. Leiria managers F.C. Vizela managers S.C. Olhanense managers S.C. Beira-Mar managers F.C. Penafiel managers C.F. União managers Varzim S.C. managers Moreirense F.C. managers F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran managers Saudi Pro League managers Ohod Club managers Primera Federación managers CD Lugo managers Portuguese expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Iran Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Iran Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain