Alberto Valentim · Biography

In January 2000, Udinese signed Alberto Valentim do Carmo Neto, Atlético Paranaense's right-back, and brought him to Serie A, where he made his debut on the 23rd of that month. Born on 22 March 1975 in Oliveira, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, Valentim spent nine seasons in Italy with Udinese and Siena. He went back to Curitiba to finish his playing career and, as a coach, won the Campeonato Carioca with Botafogo and the Copa Sudamericana with Athletico Paranaense.

Youth football and first titles

He came through the youth system at América Mineiro and moved to Guarani in 1995, after winning the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior with the club in 1994. He played four first-team games for Guarani. That same year he was part of the Brazil Under-20 side that won the Toulon Tournament and of the Under-23 squad at the Pan American Games. In 1996 he won the second tier of the São Paulo state championship with Inter de Limeira and was named the competition's breakthrough player.

Atlético Paranaense and the loan spells

Later in 1996 he joined Atlético Paranaense and won Placar magazine's Bola de Prata as the best right-back in the Brazilian league. In 1997 and 1998 he was loaned to São Paulo, Cruzeiro and Flamengo before returning to Curitiba. In 1999 he won the Seletiva, a qualifying tournament for the Copa Libertadores, with Atlético, and the Brazilian Football Confederation named him the country's best right-back that year. His first spell at the club brought 73 appearances and one goal.

Udinese and Siena

Udinese paid around US$6.65 million for him through the Uruguayan club Rentistas. That year he was caught up in the fake Portuguese passport case, which led to bans for several Udinese players; his was later reduced. With Udinese he won the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2000 and made 86 appearances, scoring three goals, before leaving in 2005. In July of that year he joined Siena on a co-ownership deal, which was later made permanent, and he stayed in Tuscany until 2008, playing 77 matches in all.

Return to Curitiba

In 2008 he went back to Atlético Paranaense and won the 2009 Campeonato Paranaense before retiring. He ended his career with 248 appearances and four goals at professional level. In 2012 he returned to Atlético as an adviser to the club president and as an assistant coach, and in July 2013 he took charge of the team as interim coach.

Assistant at Palmeiras

Palmeiras hired him as an assistant coach in January 2014. He led the first team in several interim spells between 2014 and 2016, and in 2016 he was part of Cuca's staff when Palmeiras won the Brazilian league title. In December of that year he took his first head coaching job at Red Bull Brasil, where he stayed until April 2017. He then went back to Palmeiras and, between October and December 2017, took charge for the last ten rounds of the league season.

Botafogo, Vasco and a spell abroad

In February 2018 he took over at Botafogo and won that year's Campeonato Carioca. In June he left for Pyramids in Egypt, staying until August. That same month he joined Vasco da Gama, winning the 2019 Taça Guanabara before leaving in April. He coached Avaí from June to October 2019 and then returned to Botafogo, where he remained until February 2020.

Sudamericana and Série B

In 2021 he won the Mato Grosso state championship with Cuiabá. In October of that year he returned to Athletico Paranaense as head coach and won the 2021 Copa Sudamericana; he left the club in April 2022. He went on to coach CSA in 2022, Atlético Goianiense in 2023, Ituano in 2024 and Ponte Preta from November 2024 to August 2025. He joined América Mineiro in August 2025 and left in April 2026. In October 2026 he took charge of Série B side Operário Ferroviário.