Joao Alves Jo, commonly known as “Jo”, is a professional football player who was born on March 20, 1987 in São Paulo, Brazil.
In May 2007, Joao Alves Jo got his first opportunity to play for the national side, when he got selected for the squad that was to play against England. He made his first international appearance in a friendly against Turkey, in June 2007. He was also named in the Brazilian squad for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He contributed to the team’s 3-0 victory in a pre-Olympic friendly match against Singapore by scoring a goal. In the Olympic bronze medal playoff, he scored two goals for his national side in its 3-0 victory over Belgium. As of 2008, Joao Alves Jo has capped five times for his national side and has also scored three goals for them.
Joao Alves Jo began his football career as a striker with the Corinthians youth team in 2000 and was promoted to the senior side of the club later in 2003. During his stint at the club from 2003 to 2005, he has appeared in a total of 81 games and has scored 13 goals for it. He was also a member of the squad that won the 2003 São Paulo State Championship and the 2005 Brazilian Série A.
In 2005, Joao Alves Jo moved to the Russian football club CSKA Moscow. He started his stint brilliantly, scoring fourteen goals in his first eighteen appearances for the club. In 2006, he was a part of the team that won the Russian Premier League, the Russian Super Cup, and the Russian Cup. During the 2008 edition of the UEFA Champions League, he scored two goals for the club in the games against Inter Milan. He was also a member of the squad that won the next edition of Russian Super Cup. In total, Joao Alves Jo has appeared in more than 70 games for the club, which includes 5 Champions League games, and has scored thirty goals for them.
On July 2, 2008, Joao Alves Jo moved to the English Premier League after signing a deal with Manchester City for an undisclosed fee and was given the number 14 shirt by manager Mark Hughes.
Joao Alves Jo made his debut for the club in its first qualifying round of the 2008-09 Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup against EB/Streymur, in its 2-0 win. He also played in the side’s 2nd leg qualifying match against FC Midtjylland, and helped Manchester City qualify for Europe.
