Place of birth Jardinópolis, Brazil 2002–2003 Internacional Height 1.78 m Salary 110,775 USD (2009) Position Midfielder | Playing position Years Team Weight 83 kg Current team Nacional Futebol Clube | |
Full name Álvaro Henrique Alves Pires Date of birth (1985-03-11) March 11, 1985 (age 32) Similar Robbie Keane, Bruce Arena, Ruud Gullit, Afshin Ghotbi, Lothar Osiander | ||
Álvaro Henrique Alves Pires, or simply Álvaro Pires, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a defensive-midfielder, he currently plays for Nacional Futebol Clube.
A native of Jardinópolis, Brazil (just outside 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.[1].
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.