Carlos Alhinho

Carlos Alexandre Fortes Alhinho (10 January 1949 – 31 May 2008) was a Portuguese professional football central defender and manager.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Fortes and the second or paternal family name is 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 31 May 2008(2008-05-31) (aged 59)
Place of death Benguela, Angola
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1963–1965 Académica Mindelo
1965–1968 Académica
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1968–1972 Académica 95 (3)
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)
Total 372 (18)
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-Qadsiah
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He was one of the few players in his generation to have played for the Big Three in Portugal – Sporting, Benfica and Porto.[1] Over 15 seasons, he amassed Primeira 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, Alhinho moved to Portugal 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.[2]

After three further seasons in Coimbra, Alhinho signed for Sporting CP, 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,[3] returned to his country of adoption a mere months after, joining FC Porto.[4]

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[5]– 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, earning 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,[6] working with Angola nine years later and again in 2000.[7]

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.[8]

References
  1. Malheiro, João (July 2006). Memorial Benfica 100 Glórias [Benfica Memorial, 100 glories] (in Portuguese) (Third ed.). QuidNovi. p. 14. ISBN 978-972-8998-26-4.
  2. "Mindelo chora de mansinho a perda do filho querido" [Mindelo quietly mourns loss of beloved son] (in Portuguese). Criolo Sports. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  3. "Alhinho sera traspasado al Oporto" [Alhinho will be transferred to Porto]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 6 July 1975. p. 12. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  4. "Alhinho, defensa portugués, fichó por el At. de Madrid" [Alhinho, Portuguese defender, signed for At. de Madrid]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 21 September 1975. p. 10. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  5. "Topschutters tweede klasse" [Top scorers second division] (in Dutch). Belgium Soccer History. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  6. Cape Verde Islands – List of International Matches; at RSSSF
  7. Goal Programme – Federação Caboverdiana de Futebol – 2007 (Goal Programme – Cape Verde Football Federation – 2007); FIFA, 24 August 2009 (in French)
  8. "Former Angola coach dies". BBC Sport. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.

Further reading
  • Rui Miguel Tovar, 101 Cromos da Bola, Leya, 2012 ISBN 9892317866,
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