Bruno Alves

Porto

Alves was born in Póvoa de Varzim, and grew up in the Caxinas fishing neighbourhood of bordering Vila do Conde, as did his long-time international teammates Hélder Postiga and Fábio Coentrão. He started playing football for local club Varzim, before joining the youth ranks of Porto at the age of 17. After three consecutive loans, two in Portugal and another in Greece AEK Athens, moving alongside his teammate Paulo Assunção on the indication of manager Fernando Santos, Alves returned to Porto for the 2005–06 season, extending his contract until 2010 and battling for a first-team spot with Ricardo Costa and João Paulo. He played seven league games for the eventual Primeira Liga champions, but was sent off on 15 October 2005 in a 0–2 home loss against 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 stopper. An impressive campaign saw the player finally come of age, and he was ever-present as the northerners won another national championship. On 7 April 2009, Alves' early mistake in a UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford led to Wayne Rooney's equaliser– the match ended 2–2 and Porto went on to lose 3–2 on aggregate. However, on 10 May, he headed in the only goal in a home win over Nacional which…

Alves played for Portugal at the 2004 Summer Olympics, with the country's participation ending after three games in Greece. Luiz Felipe Scolari gave him his full international debut in June 2007 against Kuwait in a 1–1 away draw, and he was later selected as a back-up for UEFA Euro 2008, appearing in the 2–0 group stage loss to Switzerland. A regular starter during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Alves headed the winner in injury time for the final 2–1 win in Albania on 6 June 2009, allowing Portugal to reach the play-offs; there, in the first leg in Lisbon, he also found the net (the game's only goal) against Bosnia and Herzegovina, in an eventual 2–0 aggregate qualification. He also played all the matches and minutes in the finals in South Africa, in an eventual round-of-16 exit. Alves was ever-present at the Euro 2012 tournament, starring alongside former Porto teammate Pepe. In the semi-finals, against Spain, he missed his penalty shootout attempt in a 4–2 loss. Ten days after being included in Paulo Bento's final 23-men squad for the 2014 World Cup, Alves scored a 93rd-minute winner in a 1–0 friendly win over Mexico for his tenth international goal, also featuring in the tournament opener against Germany, a 4–0 defeat. He also started in the following two fixtures in Brazil, in a group stage exit. Alves was also selected for Euro 2016. In the penultimate warm-up game away to England on 2 June, he was sent off in the first half for a head-high tackle on Harry Kane;…

Club

International

Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Alves goal.

Alves' older brother, Geraldo, was also a footballer and a central defender. He had paternal Brazilian ancestry through his father Washington, who spent ten years of his career in Portugal – mainly with Varzim – where his children were born. The youngest sibling, Júlio, was also a footballer, playing in the midfielder position. Their uncle Geraldo Assoviador was also involved in the sport.