AFONSO ALVES is a prolific striker who has made his mark in Sweden and Holland since leaving his native Brazil in 2002.

He was almost unknown outside his homeland when he left Atlético Mineiro to join Gothenburg outfit Örgryte in Sweden on loan, but soon his remarkable talent for goalscoring had European scouts sitting up and taking notice.

He smashed 13 goals in his first season and 10 in his second before being snapped up by Malmö in 2004.

There he lifted the Swedish championship in his first season, scoring 12 times in 24 games, and he kept up his one in two scoring record the following season with 14 in 24, coming second in the nation's Golden Boot award for the second successive campaign.

Bigger and better things awaited the prolific marksman.

In the spring of 2006 he moved on to Dutch side Heerenveen, becoming the club's record signing at around €4.5m.

Once in Holland the goals really started to flow.

In his first season, 2006/07, he scored a stunning club record 34 goals in just 31 league games, becoming the third Brazilian to be top scorer in the Eredivisie, following in the footsteps of legends Romario and Ronaldo.

He was awarded the league's Golden Shoe and finished second in the race for the European Golden Boot, a point behind AS Roma's Francesco Totti.

In summer 2007 he was strongly linked with interest from Boro but he stayed in Holland and continued to make headlines, blasting seven goals in his side's 9-0 win over Heracles Almelo in just his second appearance that season.

His international debut came when he replaced World Player of the Year Kaka against England on June 1 2007 in the first full international at the new Wembley Stadium.

He was also part of the Brazilian squad which won the Copa America 2007 in Venezuela, his first international goal coming on September 12 2007 in a 3-1 win against Mexico.

Boro finally got their man after a protracted transfer saga which ended just minutes before the close of the January 2008 transfer window in a deal which smashed the previous record transfer, £8.15m for Massimo Maccarone.

He made his Boro debut as a substitute against Fulham in a 1-0 win at the Riverside on February 9 2007 and scored his first goals with two clinical strikes in the 2-2 draw with Manchester United in April 2007.

Alves scored six goals in the final six games, including a superb hat-trick in the 8-1 romp of Manchester City on the last day of the 2007/08 season.

The 2008-09 campaign proved to be hugely frustrating and a disappointment for Afonso as he managed just seven goals, only four in the Premier League.