Paulo António Alves, known as Paulão (born 22 October 1969) is an Angola

Angola

Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...

n former footballer who played at both professional and international levels, as a midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role...

.

Club career

Paulão played club football in Angola and Portugal, playing for Primeiro de Maio

Estrela Clube Primeiro de Maio

Estrela Clube Primeiro de Maio, usually known simply as Primeiro de Maio, is a football club from Benguela, Angola, founded in 1955...

, Vitória de Setúbal

Vitória F.C.

Vitória Futebol Clube is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Setúbal. Popularly known as Vitória de Setúbal with the motto "A Vitória será nossa" .- Domestic :*Portuguese Liga: Runners-up 1971–72...

, Benfica, Académica de Coimbra, Sporting de Espinho

S.C. Espinho

Sporting Clube de Espinho, also known as Sporting de Espinho, is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Espinho, Aveiro district. The club has departments in volleyball - Sporting de Espinho , and handball - Sporting de Espinho that usually compete in the major Portuguese top leagues, and also...

, Petro Atlético

Atlético Petróleos Luanda

Atlético Petróleos de Luanda, usually known as Petro Atlético Luanda, or simply Petro Atlético or Petro de Luanda, is a traditional football club from Luanda, Angola, founded in 1980...

 and Aviação

Atlético Sport Aviação

Atlético Sport Aviação, usually known simply as Aviação , is a football club from Luanda, Angola, founded in 1953...

.

International career

Paulão was a member of the Angola national side

Angola national football team

The Angola national football team, nicknamed Palancas Negras , is the national team of Angola and is controlled by the Federação Angolana de Futebol. Angola reached 45th in the FIFA Rankings in July 2002...

 between 1989 and 2001, including appearing in eight FIFA World Cup qualifying games.

He also played at the Europe XI v Africa XI

Europe XI v Africa XI (1997)

Europe XI v Africa XI was a friendly football match that took place on January 29, 1997 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal, between a European select side and an African select side. The match was jointly organized by UEFA and CAF as part of the European Year against Racism...

friendly game in 1997.