Álvaro Silva (footballer)

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Linares and the surname or paternal family name is Silva.

Alvaro Linares Silva (born March 30, 1984), known as Álvaro Silva (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈalβaɾo ˈsilβa]), is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Born in Spain, he represented the Philippines national team.

Álvaro Silva

Silva playing for Philippines at the 2019 Asian Cup
Personal information
Full name	Alvaro Linares Silva[1][2]
Birth name	Álvaro Silva Linares[3]
Date of birth	(1984-03-30) March 30, 1984 (age 41)
Place of birth	Andújar, Spain
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back
Youth career
	Marbella
	Vázquez Cultural
	Málaga
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2000–2006	Málaga B	58	(0)
2003–2004	→ Marbella (loan)	34	(0)
2006–2009	Málaga	46	(1)
2008–2009	→ Xerez (loan)	19	(0)
2009–2011	Cádiz	60	(1)
2011–2013	Xerez	13	(1)
2012	→ Petrolul Ploiești (loan)	8	(0)
2013–2014	Khazar	41	(1)
2014–2015	Al-Qadsia	0	(0)
2015–2016	Daejeon Citizen	22	(0)
2017	Hanoi	14	(4)
2018	Kedah	13	(0)
2019	Ceres–Negros	0	(0)
2019–2021	BG Pathum United	0	(0)
2019	→ Suphanburi (loan)	13	(1)
2021–2022	Antequera	3	(0)
International career‡
2014–2019	Philippines	17	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 06:28, December 19, 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 16:11, November 19, 2019 (UTC)

He played for clubs in Spain, Romania, Azerbaijan, Kuwait, South Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand during his senior career, notably amassing Segunda División totals of 165 matches and two goals at the service of Málaga B, Málaga, Xerez (two spells) and Cádiz.

Club career

Silva was born in Andújar, Jaén. After one loan, he made his senior debut with Atlético Malagueño, appearing in two second division seasons and being relegated in the latter. His first contact with the first team came in 2006–07, also in the second level (33 games, one goal).^[4]

In 2008–09, Silva was loaned by Málaga for a second time, to another Andalusian side, Xerez CD, appearing relatively as they achieved a first-ever La Liga promotion. On 16 July 2009 he returned to Málaga, being immediately released and joining neighbors Cádiz CF in the second level for three years.^[5] A starter through most of the campaign, he suffered relegation this time.

Silva returned to division two and Xerez in the summer of 2011.^[6] After only one league appearance in the first half of the season, however, he moved abroad and penned a six-month contract with Liga I club FC Petrolul Ploiești.^[7]

In January 2013, Silva signed an 18-month deal with Khazar Lankaran FK of the Azerbaijan Premier League.^[8] He won his second piece of silverware on 23 October of that year, featuring against Neftchi Baku PFK in the Azerbaijan Supercup.^[9]

After his stint in Azerbaijan, Silva turned down offers from clubs in Israel, Qatar and Spain which included Marbella FC, in favor of Kuwaiti Premier League's Qadsia SC.^[10] On 30 August 2016, he left Daejeon Citizen FC and began training with Indonesian club Arema Cronus F.C. who was poised to sign him pending a successful medical,^[11] but eventually nothing came of it.^[12]

Silva joined V.League 1 side Hanoi FC on 21 December 2016, for one year.^[13]

International career

In early 2014, Silva started work on getting his Filipino passport as his paternal grandmother was Filipino.^[14] so he would be eligible to play for the Philippines national team. By mid-June, he arrived in Manila to further process his documents.^[15]

Silva made his international debut on October 31, 2014, coming on as a substitute in a 3–0 friendly win against Nepal.^[16]

Personal life

Silva was born to Spanish parents – his father being of Filipino descent^[14]– and traces his Filipino roots to Cavite and Iloilo.^[15][17] Silva belongs to a family of footballers, his younger brother Enrique, played for Malaga B,^[18] his cousin Kike Linares – who is also a Philippines international^[19] and Nacho Linares.

Club statistics

As of 19 December 2021^{[citation needed]}

Club	Season	League			Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Málaga B	2004–05[3]	Segunda División B	36	0	—		—		36	0
	2005–06[3]	Segunda División B	22	0	—		—		22	0
	Total		58	0	—		—		58	0
Marbella (loan)	2003–04[3]	Segunda División B	34	0	—		—		34	0
Málaga	2004–05[3]	La Liga	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2005–06[3]	Segunda División	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2006–07[3]	Segunda División	33	1	5	0	—		38	1
	2007–08[3]	Segunda División	13	0	3	0	—		16	0
	Total		46	1	9	0	—		55	1
Xerez (loan)	2008–09[3]	Segunda División	20	0	1	0	—		21	0
Cádiz	2009–10[3]	Segunda División	28	0	0	0	—		28	0
	2010–11[3]	Segunda División B	32	1	1	0	2[a]	0	35	1
	Total		58	1	1	0	2	0	61	1
Xerez	2011–12[3]	Segunda División	1	0	1	0	—		2	0
	2012–13[3]	Segunda División	12	1	1	0	—		13	1
	Total		13	1	2	0	—		15	1
Petrolul Ploiești (loan)	2011–12[20]	Liga I	8	0	0	0	—		8	0
Khazar	2012–13[20]	Azerbaijan Premier League	11	1	4	0	—		15	1
	2013–14[20]	Azerbaijan Premier League	30	0	3	1	3[b]	0	36	1
	Total		41	1	7	1	3	0	51	2
Al-Qadsia	2014–15[20]	Kuwaiti Premier League					5[c]	0	5	0
Daejeon Citizen	2015[20]	K League Classic	7	0	0	0	—		7	0
	2016[20]	K League Challenge	15	0	1	0	—		16	0
	Total		22	0	1	0	—		23	0
Hanoi	2017[20]	V.League 1	14	4	0	0	5[d]	0	19	4
Kedah	2018[20]	Malaysia Super League	13	0	2	0	6[e]	0	21	0
BG Pathum United	2019[20]	Thai League 1	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020[20]	Thai League 1	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Suphanburi (loan)	2019[20]	Thai League 1	13	1	0	0	—		13	1
Antequera	2021–22[20]	Segunda División RFEF	3	0	0	0	—		3	0
Career total			346	9	23	1	21	0	390	10

1. Appearances in Promotion Play-offs
2. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearances in AFC Cup
4. Appearances in AFC Cup and AFC Champions League
5. Appearances in Malaysia Cup

Honours

Xerez

• Segunda División: 2008–09

Khazar

• Azerbaijan Supercup: 2013
• Azerbaijan Cup runner-up: 2012–13

Al-Qadsia

• Kuwait Super Cup: 2014
• AFC Cup: 2014

BG Pathum United

• Thai League 1: 2020–21

Individual

• AFF Championship Best Eleven: 2018