Paulo António Alves

Paulão
Personal information
Full namePaulo António Alves
Date of birth22 October 1969
Place of birthLuanda, Angola
Height1.84 m (6 ft 12 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1993–1994Primeiro de Maio
1994–1995Vitória Setúbal19(1)
1995–1997Benfica23(3)
1997–1998Académica13(0)
1998–2002Espinho92(21)
2002Petro Atlético
2003–2004Aviação
Total147(25)
National team
1991–2001Angola41(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Paulo António Alves, commonly known as Paulão (born 22 October 1969), is an Angolan retired footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Born in Luanda, Paulão arrived in Portugal in 1994, where he would spend the following eight years of his career, joining Vitória de Setúbal from Estrela Clube Primeiro de Maio. After one season he signed for top division powerhouse S.L. Benfica, appearing in 18 games in his first year and scoring three goals as the club finished second 11 points behind F.C. Porto.

Paulão was only a fringe player in his second season with the Reds, playing in only seven official matches. He then left for fellow top level club Académica de Coimbra, where he was also played sparingly.

Subsequently, Paulão played four years in the second division with S.C. Espinho, after which he returned to his homeland to play with Atlético Petróleos Luanda and Atlético Sport Aviação, retiring in 2004 at the age of nearly 35.

International career

Paulão played for Angola for ten years, his debut coming in 1991. He was a member of the squad that appeared at the 1996 African Cup of Nations in South Africa, netting in a 3–3 draw against Cameroon in an eventual group stage exit.

During his tenure with the national team Paulão appeared in eight FIFA World Cup qualification games, winning five of those.[1] Additionally, he also played at the Europe XI v Africa XI friendly game in 1997.[2]

References

  1. PaulãoFIFA competition record
  2. "1997 Matches – Other Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 25 May 2011.

External links