Álvaro Henrique Alves Pires
Encyclopedia
Álvaro Henrique Alves Pires, or simply Álvaro Pires, is a Brazil
ian footballer who plays as a defensive-midfielder, he currently plays for Luverdense Esporte Clube
.
A native of Jardinópolis
, Brazil
(just outside of São Paulo
), Pires signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 with Brazilian side Internacional
and broke into the first team at the age of 19. He spent three years there, appearing in a handful of games, before signing with Russian side Spartak Nalchik, then of the Russian First Division.
Pires had been on trial with Los Angeles Galaxy
during the club's pre-season, featuring in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship
in Hawaii, and featuring on their Asian tour in China and Hong Kong. Having impressed Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit
with his performances, Pires signed a full professional contract with Galaxy on March 28, 2008.http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=soc-mls/news/news.aspx?id=4141260.
He made his MLS debut in Galaxy's first match of the 2008 season against Colorado Rapids
on March 29, 2008, and scored his first MLS goal on June 7, 2008 - also against Colorado.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian footballer who plays as a defensive-midfielder, he currently plays for Luverdense Esporte Clube
Luverdense Esporte Clube
Luverdense Esporte Clube is a Brazilian football team from Lucas do Rio Verde. They won the Campeonato Mato-Grossense once and competed several times in the Série C.-History:The club was founded on January 24, 2004, by entrepreneurs and farmers...
.
A native of Jardinópolis
Jardinópolis
Jardinópolis is a town with approximately 40,000 inhabitants and also a municipality with 504.88 km² in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in the outskirts of Ribeirão Preto. It is 590 m above the sea level. Jardinópolis is known as an important distribution center of mango in Brazil...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(just outside of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
), Pires signed his first professional contract at the age of 16 with Brazilian side Internacional
Sport Club Internacional
Sport Club Internacional is a Brazilian football team and multi-sport club from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, founded on April 4, 1909, and are one of the only five clubs to have never been relegated, along with Santos, São Paulo, Flamengo and Cruzeiro. They play in red shirts, white shorts and...
and broke into the first team at the age of 19. He spent three years there, appearing in a handful of games, before signing with Russian side Spartak Nalchik, then of the Russian First Division.
Pires had been on trial with Los Angeles Galaxy
Los Angeles Galaxy
The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional soccer team, based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California, which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, and the league's second...
during the club's pre-season, featuring in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship
Pan-Pacific Championship
The Pan-Pacific Football Championship was an inter-confederation football tournament between teams from A-League , Chinese Super League , J...
in Hawaii, and featuring on their Asian tour in China and Hong Kong. Having impressed Galaxy coach Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit
OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...
with his performances, Pires signed a full professional contract with Galaxy on March 28, 2008.http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=soc-mls/news/news.aspx?id=4141260.
He made his MLS debut in Galaxy's first match of the 2008 season against Colorado Rapids
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league...
on March 29, 2008, and scored his first MLS goal on June 7, 2008 - also against Colorado.