Bruno Alves

Bruno Eduardo Regufe Alves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbɾunu ˈaɫvɨʃ]; born 27 November 1981) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a central defender, currently sporting director of Super League Greece club AEK Athens.

He began and spent most of his professional career at Porto, where he won a total of nine titles and appeared in 171 official games. He also won trophies in Russia with Zenit Saint Petersburg, and in Turkey with Fenerbahce.

A senior Portugal international since 2007, Alves represented the country in three World Cups, three European Championships and one Confederations Cup, winning Euro 2016 and earning 96 caps in the process.

Club Career

Porto

Alves was born in Povoa de Varzim, and grew up in the Caxinas fishing neighbourhood of bordering Vila do Conde, as did his long-time international teammates Helder Postiga and Fabio Coentrao. He started playing football for local club Varzim SC, before joining the youth ranks of FC Porto at the age of 17.

After three consecutive loans, two in Portugal and another in Greece with AEK Athens FC, Alves returned Porto for the 2005–06 season, extending his contract until 2010 and battling for a first-team spot with Ricardo Costa and Joao Paulo. He played seven league games for the eventual Primeira Liga champions, but was infamously sent off on 15 October 2005 in a 0–2 home loss against S.L. Benfica, after headbutting Nuno Gomes.

The arrival of manager Jesualdo Ferreira in summer 2006 signalled the turning point in Alves' career. He beat off stiff competition for a starting berth in the team alongside Pepe and formed a solid partnership with the Brazilian-born centre back. An impressive campaign saw the player finally come of age, and he was ever-present as the northerners won another national championship.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Бруну Алвеш (russian)