Paulo António Alves

Paulão

Personal information
Full name	Paulo António Alves
Date of birth	(1969-10-22) 22 October 1969
Place of birth	Luanda, Angola
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1993–1994	Primeiro de Maio
1994–1995	Vitória Setúbal	19	(1)
1995–1997	Benfica	23	(3)
1997–1998	Académica	13	(0)
1998–2002	Espinho	92	(21)
2002	Petro Atlético
2003–2004	ASA
Total		147	(25)
International career
1991–2001	Angola	41	(10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Paulo António Alves (born 22 October 1969), commonly known as Paulão, 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 club S.L. Benfica, appearing in 18 games in his first year and scoring three goals as the team finished second 11 points behind F.C. Porto.

Paulão was only a fringe player in his second season with the Eagles, playing in only seven official matches. He then left for fellow top level side 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. Additionally, he also played at the Europe XI v Africa XI friendly game in 1997.

External links

• Paulão at footballzz.co.uk
• Paulão profile at ForaDeJogo
• Paulo António Alves at National-Football-Teams.com