Guilherme de Cássio Alves (born 8 May 1974), known simply as Guilherme, is a Brazilian footballcoach and former footballer who played as a striker, most notably for Rayo Vallecano and Atlético Mineiro. He is the current head coach of Velo Clube.
In his country, he played with eight clubs with different fortunes, and also competed professionally in Spain and Saudi Arabia during a 13-year career. Over the course of 11 Série A seasons, he amassed totals of 155 games and 68 goals.
In January 1995, Guilherme Alves left for Spain and joined Rayo Vallecano, scoring 14 goals in only 17 matches (half-a-season) as the team achieved promotion to La Liga.[1][2] During the following two campaigns, he continued to net in double digits, but they returned to the second division at the end of the latter.[3]
Still in 1999, Guilherme Alves signed with Clube Atlético Mineiro, where he experienced his best years as a professional. In the year's Série A, he was crowned top scorer by breaking the record which belonged to club legend Reinaldo, and led the team to the vice-championship.
Guilherme Alves played one year on loan with Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, scoring twice in his debut, a 3–2 home win against Sport Club Internacional. However, his stay was marred by a serious car accident which resulted in the death of two persons.[4] He never regained his previous form with Corinthians, and after leaving Atlético for good (with a total of 139 official goals), represented Ittihad FC of Saudi Arabia.
In the year 2004, Guilherme Alves signed for Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, scoring 13 goals in 50 competitive games and helping the team to the Campeonato Mineiro. He finished his career in the following year, with Botafogo de Futebol e Regatas; he suffered a serious injury while at the service of the latter and, whilst recovering from his condition at Corinthians, severely hurt his thigh and decided to end his career, at 31.
In the beginning of 2007, Guilherme Alves served as first club Marília's director of football, with the side in the Série B. He subsequently joined another former team, Atlético Mineiro, being named assistant coach alongside Nei Pandolfo and Freddy Rincón.
Courtesy of his solid Atlético performances, Guilherme Alves played a total of six matches with Brazil, his debut coming in 2000. He was called up for the squad which represented the nation in the following year's Copa América, scoring in a 2–0 group stage win against Peru in an eventual quarter-final exit.[6]