João Alves (footballer, born 1952)

(Redirected from João Resende Alves)

João António Ferreira Resende Alves (born 5 December 1952) is a Portuguese football manager and former player.

João Alves
Personal information
Full nameJoão António Ferreira Resende Alves
Date of birth (1952-12-05) 5 December 1952 (age 71)
Place of birthAlbergaria-a-Velha, Portugal
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1968–1969Sanjoanense
1969–1972Benfica
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1972–1973Benfica0(0)
1972–1973Varzim (loan)
1973–1974Montijo30(2)
1974–1976Boavista59(26)
1976–1978Salamanca64(10)
1978–1979Benfica26(11)
1979–1980Paris Saint-Germain19(0)
1980–1983Benfica71(17)
1983–1985Boavista47(3)
Total316(69)
International career
1974–1983Portugal36(3)
Managerial career
1984–1986Boavista
1988–1990Estrela Amadora
1990Boavista
1991–1992Vitória Guimarães
1992–1994Estrela Amadora
1994–1996Belenenses
1996Salamanca
1996–1997Boavista
1997–1998Campomaiorense
1998–2000Farense
2000–2002Académica
2002–2003Estrela Amadora
2003–2004Leixões
2009–2011Servette
2012Servette
2018–2019Académica
2020Cova Piedade
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

A skilled attacking midfielder, he was considered one of the best Portuguese players of his generation, and earned the nickname Luvas Pretas from the black gloves he used to wear while playing following in the style of his grandfather Carlos Alves.[1][2]

During his career he represented mainly, with equal individual and team success, Benfica and Boavista, also coaching the latter club on three separate occasions.

Playing career

Club

Born in Albergaria-a-Velha, Aveiro District, Alves started playing at youth level for A.D. Sanjoanense, being recruited in 1969 by S.L. Benfica. His first professional team was Varzim S.C. in the 1972–73 season followed by C.D. Montijo, the latter being his Primeira Liga experience.[3]

Alves moved to his first major club, Boavista FC, for the 1974–75 campaign, where he first showed more of his talent, earning him a transfer to Spain's UD Salamanca where he remained two more years. He then returned to Portugal and Benfica,[4] only to move after one year to Paris Saint-Germain FC.[5]

Failing to impress in France, Alves immediately moved back to the Estádio da Luz, where he would play for the next three seasons.[6] He then re-joined Boavista,[7] ending his career during 1984–85 at the age of 32 to become the latter team's coach.[3]

Alves won two national championships for Benfica (1981 and 1983) and four Portuguese Cups (two for Boavista, in 1975 and 1976, and two with the former side, in 1981 and 1983).[1] He also played for them in the 1982–83 UEFA Cup final, losing on aggregate to R.S.C. Anderlecht of Belgium.[1]

International

Alves won 36 caps for Portugal (11 for Boavista, eight for Salamanca and 17 for Benfica), scoring three goals. His debut took place on 13 November 1974 in a 0–3 friendly loss to Switzerland, and his final match was on 27 April 1983, in a 0–5 loss against the Soviet Union for the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifiers.[8]

João Alves: International goals
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition[9]
13 December 1975Estádio do Bonfim, Setúbal, Portugal  Cyprus1–01–0Euro 1976 qualifying
230 March 1977Estádio dos Barreiros, Funchal, Portugal   Switzerland1–01–0Friendly
39 May 1979Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway  Norway0–10–1Euro 1980 qualifying

Coaching career

Alves became a coach after finishing his player career, managing Boavista on three separate occasions, C.F. Estrela da Amadora (leading the Amadora team to an historical 1990 Cup of Portugal triumph), Vitória de Guimarães, C.F. Os Belenenses, Salamanca, S.C. Campomaiorense, S.C. Farense, Académica de Coimbra and Leixões SC. In 1996–97, he was one of three managers as former side Salamanca returned to La Liga after a second-place finish.[10][3]

After three years out of coaching, he returned to Benfica in 2007, to be in charge of its under-18 team. Two years later he returned to senior football, signing with Switzerland's Servette FC and achieving promotion to the Super League in his second season.[11][3]

On 28 November 2011, following Swiss Cup elimination at the hands of FC Biel-Bienne (0–3 away loss), Alves was relieved of his duties.[12] However, following poor results achieved by his successor and the club's takeover by Hugh Quennec, he was reinstated as manager in April 2012:[13] in the final five games of the campaign results improved, with the team achieving four wins and one draw – this included a 2–1 win over eventual champions FC Basel, which ended Servette's streak of 17 consecutive defeats against that opponent as well as ending their 26-match unbeaten run – and the side eventually qualified for the UEFA Europa League.[14][11]

On 9 October 2018, after six years of inactivity, Alves returned for another spell as Académica coach, with the club now in the LigaPro.[15] He left at the end of the season, and came back to management on 9 January 2020 with C.D. Cova da Piedade, last-placed in the same league.[16] They were relegated in May when the campaign was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he openly attacked the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional for the decision.[17]

Managerial statistics

TeamFromToRecord
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
BoavistaAugust 1990November 1990662816228669+17042.42
Estrela AmadoraJuly 1988June 1990853125299283+9036.47
BoavistaAugust 1990November 1990126241513+2050.00
Vitória GuimarãesJanuary 1991May 1992562415176761+6042.86
Estrela AmadoraJuly 1993May 1994391315115141+10033.33
BelenensesOctober 1994May 1996662515268167+14037.88
SalamancaJuly 1996September 1996201123−1000.00
BoavistaNovember 199612 January 19977223139+4028.57
CampomaiorenseOctober 199729 November 199841128216273−11029.27
FarenseFebruary 1999January 200028710113546−11025.00
AcadémicaDecember 20003 December 200270302020116100+16042.86
Estrela Amadora6 March 200311 November 2003206591631−15030.00
Leixões5 November 200312 January 20047133715−8014.29
Servette7 October 200928 November 20117745131915684+72058.44
Servette25 April 20124 September 2012176561719−2035.29
Career totals593236155202827714+113039.80

Source: [18][19]

Honours

Player

Boavista

Benfica

Manager

Estrela da Amadora

Individual

References