Carlos Alhinho

Carlos Alhinho

Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alexandre Fortes Alhinho
Date of birth	(1949-01-10)10 January 1949
Place of birth	São Vicente, Cape Verde
Date of death
Place of death	Benguela, Angola
Height
Position(s)	Centre back
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1968–1972	Académica	95	(4)
1972–1975	Sporting CP	77	(2)
1975	Betis	0	(0)
1976	Porto	19	(0)
1976–1977	Benfica	22	(2)
1977–1978	Molenbeek	19	(1)
1978–1981	Benfica	52	(0)
1979	→ New England Tea Men (loan)	16	(1)
1981–1983	Portimonense	51	(9)
1983–1984	Farense	21	(0)
International career
1973–1982	Portugal	15	(0)
Managerial career
1984–1985	Lusitano Évora
1985–1986	Cape Verde
1986–1989	Académico Viseu
1989–1990	Penafiel
1990–1991	Portimonense
1991–1992	Académico Viseu
1994–1996	Angola
1996–1997	FAR Rabat
1998–2000	Atlético Aviação
2000	Angola
2001–2002	Badajoz
2002–2003	Al Ahli
2003–2004	Al Gharafa
2004–2005	Qatar SC
2005–2006	Al-Muharraq
2006	Petro Atlético
2007	Al Qadisiyah
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Carlos Alexandre Fortes Alhinho (10 January 1949 – 31 May 2008) was a Portuguese professional footballer who played as a central defender, and a manager.

He is one of the few players in his generation to have played for the Big Three in Portugal – Sporting, Benfica and Porto. Over the course of 15 seasons, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 337 games and 17 goals.

Until his death in 2008 he subsequently worked as a coach for more than 20 years, in numerous countries.

Club career

Born in São Vicente, Cape Verde, Alhinho moved to Portugal shortly after. He made his professional debuts with Académica de Coimbra in the 1968–69 season, appearing in 14 matches as the Students finished in sixth position in the top division.

After three further seasons in Coimbra he signed for Sporting Clube de Portugal, 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 side Real Betis but, unsettled, returned to his country of adoption a mere months after, joining F.C. Porto.

In the next five years, Alhinho would be mainly linked contractually to S.L. Benfica, winning another league in 1976–77. During his tenure with the Eagles, 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 for the New England Tea Men, loaned.

Aged 33, Alhinho left Benfica, played three more years in the Portuguese top flight, with Portimonense S.C. and S.C. Farense (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, Angola, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

International career

Alhinho represented Portugal internationally, gaining 15 caps over a period of nine years. His debut came on 28 March 1973 in a 1–1 draw with Northern Ireland for the 1974 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and his last game happened on 5 May 1982 in a 1–3 friendly loss with Brazil.

In one of his first coaching jobs, in 1985, Alhinho managed the Cape Verdean national team, working with Angola nine years later and again in 2000.

Death

On 31 May 2008 Alhinho opened the doors of the elevator on the sixth floor of his hotel in Benguela 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.

External links

• Carlos Alhinho at footballzz.co.uk
• Carlos Alhinho profile at ForaDeJogo
• Carlos Alhinho manager stats at ForaDeJogo
• NASL career stats
• BDFutbol profile
• Carlos Alhinho at National-Football-Teams.com