Diego Alves is the Brazilian goalkeeper who stands for the Spanish “Valencia”. This year he turned 31 years old, and for goalkeepers this is the time of heyday. Therefore, Diego Alves can still play for many years at a high level, although his best period is still left behind.
Carier start
Diego Alves was born on June 24, 1985 in Brazil, where he played football at an amateur level for quite some time. He got into a professional club only at the age of 16 - in 2001, the Brazilian Botafogo invited him to his place. However, two years later, the goalkeeper moved to Atletico Mineiro, with whom he signed a professional contract a year later. Only in 2005, Diego Alves was able to debut for the club, having played three matches in a season. But from next year, he already became the club's main goalkeeper, having played 24 matches in a year. In 2007, he appeared on the field 34 times and showed such an impressive game that he was interested in European clubs, especially the Spanish “Almeria”. And in the summer of 2007, for two and a half million euros, the Brazilian moved to a new club.
Relocation to Europe
Diego Alves - the goalkeeper who predicted a great future. Then it was believed that “Almeria” for him - this is only a step for the transition to a stronger team. But it so happened that the Brazilian spent four years in this club, having played 123 matches for him - and only in 2011, when he was 26 years old, Diego Alves was invited to Valencia. Almeria has never been a strong club, spent almost all the time in the second division, so the invitation from one of the country's strongest clubs meant a lot to the player.
Going to Valencia
Then the Brazilian's talent began to unfold, and the world was able to see how good Diego Alves is the goalkeeper. Brazil was a comfort zone for him, and only in Almeria he was able to show himself fully. He came to Valencia as the main goalkeeper and for a long time successfully played this role. In the five years he spent at the club, he entered the field 142 times. Now the sixth year of the Brazilian goalkeeper’s stay in the Spanish club has begun, and this season he has already played ten matches, having conceded 17 goals in them. Alves could not play a single game, keeping his gates locked. His contract with the club is designed until 2019, and at the moment he does not have a strong competitor who could claim his place at the base. But the club’s performances leave much to be desired, so there is a likelihood that investors will want to see a higher-class goalkeeper at the gate. But until this happens, Diego Alves remains number one in the club.
Team appearances
Alves was rarely called to Brazil. He even made his debut for the national team at the age of 26 - just as he moved to Valencia. In total, Alves spent nine matches for the national team, having conceded in them only two goals. In seven matches he managed to defend “to zero”. Unfortunately, all nine matches were friendly, and the goalkeeper has never defended the colors of his country in a competitive match. In 2016, he went to the America's Cup, but spent all three matches on the bench.