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Carlos Alhinho
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alexandre Fortes Alhinho
Date of birth	10 January 1949
Place of birth	São Vicente, Cape Verde
Date of death	31 May 2008 (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
1968–1972	Académica
1972–1975	Sporting CP
1975	Betis
1976	Porto
1976	Benfica
1977–1978	Molenbeek
1978–1981	Benfica
1979	→ New England Tea Men (loan)
1981–1983	Portimonense
1983–1984	Farense
Total
International career
1973–1982	Portugal
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

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

^ 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.
^ "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.
^ "Alhinho sera traspasado al Oporto" [Alhinho will be transferred to Porto]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 6 July 1975. p. 12. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
^ "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.
^ "Topschutters tweede klasse" [Top scorers second division] (in Dutch). Belgium Soccer History. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
^ Cape Verde Islands – List of International Matches; at RSSSF
^ Goal Programme – Federação Caboverdiana de Futebol – 2007 (Goal Programme – Cape Verde Football Federation – 2007); FIFA, 24 August 2009 (in French)
^ "Former Angola coach dies". BBC Sport. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2008.