1. Afonso Alves represented Atletico Mineiro, Orgryte, Malmo FF, Heerenveen, Middlesbrough, Al-Sadd, Al-Rayyan and Al-Gharafa during a career that spanned between 2001 and 2013.
17 Facts About Afonso Alves
1. 2.
Afonso Alves won eight caps and scored one goal for the Brazil national team, and helped his country win the 2007 Copa America.
3.
Afonso Alves was brought up by his mother, Dona Eliade, and has a brother, Alexsander, and sister, Alexandra.
4.
Afonso Alves's father died when he was nine years old.
5.
Afonso Alves stayed for the 2005 season, scoring 14 in 24 games, becoming the club's top-scorer for the second year running when Malmo finished fifth.
6.
Afonso Alves was at Malmo for the start of the 2006 season, and scored three goals in seven matches.
7.
Afonso Alves then scored goals against Blackburn Rovers and a penalty against Manchester City, two against Barrow and one against local rivals Sunderland with a goal from 18 yards out.
8.
Afonso Alves scored 2 goals in 12 league matches, and scored one goal in the Qatari Stars Cup after three games.
9.
Afonso Alves then accepted a loan bid from another Qatari League club, Al-Rayyan SC.
10.
On 31 January 2010, Afonso Alves was loaned to the Qatari seven-time league champion Al-Rayyan SC, coached by the Brazilian coach Paulo Autuori.
11.
Afonso Alves scored 18 goals on his loan spell, 9 of them in seven matches of the AFC Cup, and seven goals in seven league matches.
12.
Afonso Alves officially moved to Al-Rayyan SC for a further two years after winning the 2010 Emir of Qatar Cup with Al Rayyan on 15 May 2010.
13.
Afonso Alves had been training with the youth team of his former club Heerenveen the days before his decision to retire.
14.
On 17 May 2007, Afonso Alves received his first call-up for the Brazil national team for friendlies against England and Turkey.
15.
Afonso Alves was part of the Brazilian squad which won the 2007 Copa America in Venezuela.
16.
Afonso Alves left Brazil as a 21-year-old in 2002 to move to Sweden.
17.
Afonso Alves has a son, Felipe Henrique, who is a footballer at Atletico Mineiro's Tupinambas Academy, and lives with Alves' former girlfriend in Brazil.