Vinícius Junior and Alverca’s bold gamble on the Primeira Liga | OneFootball

The arrival of Vinícius Jr. and the group of investors now in control of FC Alverca’s SAD (PLC) has thrust the Ribatejo club under the spotlight of Portuguese football. For the first time, one of the world’s biggest football stars is directly tied to a Liga Portugal project, transforming external perceptions of a club that historically has already graced the Primeira Liga.

André Lopes delves in the Alverca project, fuelled by investment from the Real Madrid and Brazil superstar.

Vinícius Jr. was in attendance at the Alverca v Benfica match in August, naturally becoming the centre of attention

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It is important to realise the change in ownership did not come in a vacuum: it unfolded against a backdrop of instability and accelerated transformation.

Just weeks earlier, Bruno Vicintin’s departure to Santa Clara’s SAD had left Alverca’s immediate future in doubt. The Brazilian executive had been the face of an aggressive transfer-market strategy that reached its peak last summer: more than 30 signings, with virtually the entire backbone of the previous squad moving on. Only one player remained from the 2024/25 campaign – a stark symbol of the near-total break with the recent past.

Yes, you read correctly. Alverca brought in THIRTY new players in the summer transfer market and retained only ONE from their successful promotion campaign last season.

In this context of sweeping renewal, Alverca embark on 2025/26 as a project in constant reconstruction, where Vinícius Jr.’s arrival could prove either an unprecedented springboard to international exposure or an added layer of volatility. Between Vicintin’s legacy and the promise of global recognition under new ownership, the central challenge is clear: to build sporting sustainability at a club that has become synonymous with instability in the transfer market.

Alverca’s SAD was created in 2020, with Ricardo Vicintin as majority shareholder and the face of the project. The Brazilian businessman set out to restore the club’s profile, banking on professional management and a strong link to the Brazilian market.

In its early years, the strategy focused on bringing young Brazilian talent to Portugal, using Alverca as a springboard into European football. The vision was ambitious: to make the club a reference point in player development, scouting and asset appreciation, combining sporting results with financial returns. Competitively, Alverca remained solid in Liga 3, consolidating its structure and laying the groundwork for a return to the professional divisions.

The club’s “Complexo Desportivo FC Alverca” home, which has a capacity of 7,000 spectators

From 2022 onwards, Ricardo’s son, Bruno Vicintin – with previous experience at Cruzeiro – took on a more central role. Under his leadership, the project became even more aggressive in the transfer market, with high squad turnover and Alverca turning into an incubator for Brazilian prospects from top academies who lacked immediate first-team space at home. For many, the Ribatejo club was the perfect gateway into the European market.

Notable examples of this model included:

The 2024/25 season also ended with the departure of several other starters, most on free transfers. Among them: Portuguese winger Andrézinho (to Oțelul Galați), striker Anthony Carter (17 goals, signed by Santa Clara), versatile defender Nkanyiso Shinga (€200k move to Kaizer Chiefs), while veterans such as Wilson Eduardo, Ricardo Dias and Harramiz also moved on.

Coach Vasco Botelho da Costa likewise departed, unable to agree a renewal, and has since joined Moreirense in a project backed by Black Knight Football Club, the US-based fund that owns AFC Bournemouth and now holds 70% of the Minho club’s SAD.

Despite competitive solidity, Alverca’s model revealed excessive dependence on its privileged ties with Santa Clara, which supplied much of the squad. While effective short term, this limited the club’s ability to forge its own identity or develop homegrown players.

Without a consistent core of in-house talent, Alverca became hostage to short loan cycles – players arrived, impressed, and moved on without leaving a lasting foundation.

Moreover, the squad was initially built for stability in Liga 2, not for the demands of the Primeira Liga. Promotion caught the club off-guard, leaving it with an ageing squad, many of whom departed on free transfers, exposing the lack of long-term structural planning.

The new administration thus faced a formidable challenge. With a reported €15m football budget, according to CEO Pedro Alves, they needed a coach and virtually an entire new squad to relaunch Alverca’s top-flight ambitions after a 21-year absence.

In June, Custódio Castro was appointed head coach, taking on his first Primeira Liga job after working with SC Braga B. He has implemented the 3-4-3 system he favoured at Braga, emphasising competitiveness, pressing and tactical discipline. To match his demands, a flood of over 30 signings arrived in the summer of 2025.

FC Alverca’s typical lineup for the new season

The new challenge of attaining stability

FC Alverca enters the 2025/26 season at a historic crossroads. The arrival of Vinícius Jr. and the group of investors now in control of the SAD guarantees immediate visibility and a level of media projection that few clubs in Portuguese football have ever experienced, the Big Three aside.

Yet the glamour of having such a global name attached to the project is not enough to erase the structural imbalances inherited from the past. After more than two decades away from the limelight, the club returns to the Primeira Liga with a sporting structure still under reconstruction, an almost entirely new squad, and a collective identity that remains undefined.

The central challenge lies in breaking the cycle of volatility that characterised the previous administration, a model built on short-term loans and relentless player turnover. While this approach did allow Alverca to showcase and move on talent, it failed to lay down lasting foundations, leaving the club trapped in a loop of temporary solutions.

Vinícius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga, American rapper Travis Scott and Chase B decked out in Alverca colours

The arrival of Custódio, with a demanding tactical philosophy that relies heavily on collective discipline, requires an extra effort to forge cohesion within a dressing room where almost no-one shares a common past.

In the immediate future, much will depend on how the new leadership manages to combine the media power of Vinícius Jr. with the pressing need for sporting stability. There are financial resources in place to support a competitive project, but Portuguese football has proven time and again that money alone is not enough: planning, patience, and continuity are essential.

Between the promise of global visibility and the urgency of building lasting foundations, Alverca now faces the biggest test of its modern history. Whether this cycle ends in success or failure will determine if the club can establish itself as a true force in the landscape of Liga Portugal.