Bruno Alves

Bruno Eduardo Regufe Alves, or just Bruno Alves is a Portuguese professional footballer who currently plays as a centre-back for Seria A club Parma and Portugal National Football Team.

Bruno has represented his national team in 94 games and continues to remain as one of the respected veterans of the side. Bruno was born in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal on 27 November 1981.

He is a tall centre-back at 6 feet 2 inches and has the excellent ability of heading the ball. He is good at defending set-pieces and dwarfs most strikers.

Background

Bruno started playing football for the local club of Varzim before joining Porto’s youth side at the age of just 17.

He was loaned out thrice in his 8 year stay with the Portuguese giants. Bruno went on to spend most of his career with Porto, playing for a string of other clubs imposing his defensive experience.

Bruno Alves has represented the following teams - Varzim, Porto, Porto B, Farense, Vitoria Guimaraes, AEK Athens, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Fenerbahce, Cagliari, and Rangers.

Debut

Bruno Alves made his professional debut for Porto B in 2000. He stayed at the reserve side for two years before making an appearance for the main side.

Bruno made his international debut in June 2007 against Kuwait in a 1-1 draw.

Rise to Glory

Bruno Alves entered the international foray in 2007 when Luiz Felipe Scolari gave him a chance against Kuwait which ended in a 1-1 draw.

He was then called as a backup for the UEFA Euro 2008 squad, appearing in one game which was a 0-2 loss to Switzerland.

Bruno was a regular feature in the side for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers where he helped his side to a 2-1 win against Albania to eventually reach the play-offs.

He scored another goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina to help his team to the finals. He played all the games in the tournament, until they bowed out in the round-of-16.

Bruno formed a splendid partnership with Brazilian-born Pepe in the Euro 2012 tournament and helping his side to the semifinals.

He missed a penalty in the semifinals, resulting in their exit. Bruno was also a part of the disappointing group stage exit in the 2014 World Cup, which included a 4-0 defeat to eventual champions Germany.

Bruno achieved his first international title when Portugal won the 2016 UEFA Euro, beating France in the finals.

He played his first game only in the semifinals against Wales, which was a 2-0 win. He was also a part of the squad in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Bruno has made 94 appearances for the national team and has managed to 11 goals playing as a centre-half.

Club Career

Having started his career at Porto as a youth product, Bruno was largely disappointing until manager Jesualdo Ferreira’s arrival in 2006.

He broke through to the first team more frequently, and formed a solid partnership with national teammate Pepe. Bruno won nine titles at Porto, having played a massive 171 games in all competitions. He was also Porto’s 2009 Player of the Year.

Bruno moved to Russian side Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2010 for a fee of 22 million euros. He made 100 appearances in all competitions for the Russian giants, scoring 3 goals and providing one assist.

He was the heart of their defence and possessed an aerial threat. He won 2 titles there, one league title and the domestic cup.

Fenerbahce came calling in 2013 and he signed for 5.5 million euros. He racked up 101 appearances for the Turkish club in all competitions, scoring 4 goals and providing three assists.

He won the league title with them in the 2013-14 season and also the domestic cup. In 2016, Bruno signed for Serie A side Cagliari and played there for one season before moving to Scottish club Rangers.

Current Rangers manager has said that Bruno is an important part of the team and will play more games.