Mailson Alves

Mailson Alves Barreiro Veriato, otherwise known as Mailson Alves is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Chennaiyin FC as a defender. Born in Brazil, Alves started his football career with the Brazilian club San Jose. He changed clubs in 2009 and joined Portuguese second division club Portimonense.

His debut match for the club was in October of 2009 against Beira-Mar, where the Brazilian started the game and played till the 85th minute. His performance was imperative to the club’s second position finish in 2009-10. In 2011, he was back at Brazil and joined Porto Alegre.

His debut for the club was against Nova Hamburgo, where he started and played until the 68th minute. He continued with them for two years, making 11 appearances, including at the Campeonato Gaucho. In 2012, he left Alegre to join Tombense but was immediately loaned out to Serie D club Vila Nova for the 2013 season. His debut match was against Marcilio Dias, where he played the whole game.

In 2014, after a season with Nova, he returned to Tombense and debuted in a match against América. He changed clubs again in 2015 when he joined Serie C side Tupi. Alves played for the club for two competitions, Serie c and Campeonato Mineiro along with 2015 Copa do Brazil, where his performance was integral in upsetting Serie A side Paranaense.

In the same here, he joined Chennaiyin club for the second season of ISL, where his 12 appearances in backline helped the team lift the cup for the first time. After the ISL, he went on to do short stints with clubs like Volta Redonda and NorthEast United before he was back to ISL donning Highlanders’ jersey for season 3. For the season 2017-18, he was back in the Chennaiyin squad and was the highest scoring defender of the season with four headers, two of which were in the final.

His incredible performance led the team to reach finals, where his two headers were pivotal in the team winning the title once again. He is one of the only three players of the club who were part of the squad when the team lifted the cup. At the end of the season, the club extended his contract for two more years.

In an interview, he expressed his attachment to India and the club. He considers India and Chennaiyin as his second home and wishes to stay longer with the club. At present, he is training hard at the club’s pre-season tour in Malaysia ahead of the new season of ISL around the corner.