Carlos Alexandre Fortes Alhinho (10 January 1949 – 31 May 2008) was a Portuguese professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
central defender
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
and manager.
He was one of the few players in his generation to have played for the
Big Three in Portugal –
Sporting,
Benfica and
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
. Over 15 seasons, 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 337 matches and 17 goals.
Prior to his death in 2008, Alhinho worked as a coach for more than 20 years, in numerous clubs and countries.
Club career
Born in
São Vicente, Cape Verde
São Vicente (Portuguese language, Portuguese for "Vincent of Saragossa, Saint Vincent") is one of the Barlavento Islands, the northern group within the Cape Verde archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, off the West Africa, West African coast. It is ...
, Alhinho moved to
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 ...
shortly after. He made his professional debut with
Académica de Coimbra in the
1968–69 season after having joined its youth system at the age of 16 from
Académica do Mindelo, appearing in 14 matches as the team finished in sixth position in the
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 ...
.
After three further seasons in
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of .
The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
, Alhinho signed for
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, , winning his first national championship in
1973–74 and never missing a game in two of his three seasons. In 1975 he moved to
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
side
Real Betis
Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...
but, unsettled, returned to his country of adoption a mere months after, joining
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 ...
.
In the next five years, Alhinho would be mainly linked contractually to
S.L. Benfica, winning another league in
1976–77. During his tenure, however, he also played in Belgium with
R.W.D. Molenbeek– rejoining his former club after one season – and in the
North American Soccer League
The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to
1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...
for the
New England Tea Men
The New England Tea Men were an American professional soccer team based in the Greater Boston metropolitan area. They played in the North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Their home ve ...
, loaned.
Aged 33, Alhinho left Benfica, played three more years in the Portuguese top flight, with
Portimonense S.C. and
S.C. Farense
Sporting Clube Farense, simply known as Farense, is a Portuguese professional association football, football club based in Faro, Portugal, Faro in the Faro District, district of the same name and the region of Algarve. Founded in 1910, the club ha ...
(without ever suffering relegation) and retired from football. He immediately started coaching, with modest
Lusitano GC; in the following 22 years he managed teams in Portugal (two in the top division),
Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
,
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
,
Qatar
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...
and
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 ...
.
International career
Alhinho represented
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 ...
internationally, earning 15
caps
Caps are flat headgear.
Caps or CAPS may also refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...
over a period of nine years. His debut came on 28 March 1973 in a 1–1 draw with
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
for the
1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...
qualifiers, and his last game happened on 5 May 1982 in a 1–3
friendly loss with
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
.
In one of his first coaching jobs, in 1985, Alhinho managed the
Cape Verdean national team, working with
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
nine years later and again in 2000.
Death
On 31 May 2008, Alhinho opened the doors of the
elevator
An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...
on the sixth floor of his hotel in
Benguela
Benguela (; Umbundu: Luombaka) is a city in western Angola, capital of Benguela Province. Benguela is one of Angola's most populous cities with a population of 555,124 in the city and 561,775 in the municipality, at the 2014 census.
History
Por ...
and stepped in, only to find the carriage was not there but on the ground floor. He plunged five floors onto the top of the cabin and, despite receiving immediate medical attention, died shortly afterwards at the age of 59.
References
Further reading
*Rui Miguel Tovar, ''101 Cromos da Bola'', Leya, 2012 ,
External links
*
*
NASL career stats*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alhinho, Carlos
1949 births
2008 deaths
People from São Vicente, Cape Verde
Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent
Portuguese men's footballers
Cape Verdean men's footballers
Men's association football forwards
Académica do Mindelo players
Primeira Liga players
Académica de Coimbra (football) players
Sporting CP footballers
FC Porto players
S.L. Benfica footballers
Portimonense S.C. players
S.C. Farense players
Real Betis players
Belgian Pro League players
R.W.D. Molenbeek (1909) players
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
New England Tea Men players
Portugal men's under-21 international footballers
Portugal men's international footballers
Portuguese expatriate men's footballers
Cape Verdean expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Expatriate men's footballers in Spain
Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Angola
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Angola
Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Cape Verdean expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Cape Verdean football managers
Portuguese football managers
Primeira Liga managers
Liga Portugal 2 managers
Académico de Viseu F.C. managers
F.C. Penafiel managers
Portimonense S.C. managers
Segunda División managers
CD Badajoz managers
AS FAR managers
Cape Verde national football team managers
Angola national football team managers
Al-Muharraq SC managers
1996 African Cup of Nations managers
Portuguese expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in Angola
Expatriate football managers in Morocco
Expatriate football managers in Spain
Expatriate football managers in Qatar
Expatriate football managers in Bahrain
Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in Angola
20th-century Portuguese sportsmen