Alan (footballer, born 1989)

Alan Douglas Borges de Carvalho ( born 10 July 1989), or simply Alan and pronounced in Mandarin as A Lan (Chinese: 阿兰; pinyin: Ā Lán), is a professional footballer who plays as a forward. Born in Brazil, he plays for the China national team.

After spells in Brazil with Londrina and Fluminense, Alan joined Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2010. There he established himself in the first team and became an intrinsic part of the squad. His playing time was limited in the 2011–12 season owing to an injury. Nevertheless, Alan scored regularly for the club, including many hat-tricks. In 2015, after playing nearly 130 matches for the Austrian side and scoring nearly 100 goals, he signed with Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande.

Born in Barbosa, São Paulo, Alan signed for Londrina, in 2007. In 2008, he was given a professional contract by Fluminense with whom he played for two seasons till 2010. He scored 11 league goals for the club and also won the 2010 Brasileiro.

On 11 August 2010, Alan signed for Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg for an undisclosed fee, as a replacement for Marc Janko who headed to FC Twente. He made his debut for the club in UEFA Champions League qualifier against Hapoel Tel Aviv which his team lost 2–3. In that match he came as a 67th-minute substitute for Franz Schiemer. In his first season with the club, Alan scored a hat-trick against Sturm Graz on 16 April 2011. Alan also scored braces against Austria Wien and SC Wiener Neustadt as he ended the season with 10 league goals.

Alan started the 2011–12 season by scoring a hat-trick against Latvian side FK Liepājas Metalurgs. His goal scoring streak continued as he scored a brace against FK Senica as well as scoring in a defeat against AC Omonia. However his playing time in his second season with the Austrian club was limited as he ruptured his cruciate ligament in a league match against Rapid Vienna on 28 August 2011 and was ruled out of action for at least six months.

Alan got back on training on 20 November 2012. He finished the 2012–13 season with 11 goals in 14 league matches and did not play in any continental match.

The 2013–14 season proved to be the most successful season so far for the Brazilian striker. On 8 February 2014, Alan scored a hat-trick against relegation threatened SV Grodig. In that match, the same feat would also be achieved by his Spanish partner Jonathan Soriano. He also received two red cards - one against SV Ried and another against FC Basel in an UEFA Europa League encounter. Alan ended the season winning the Austrian Football Bundesliga and Austrian Cup - completing a domestic double. He was the second topscorer only behind teammate Soriano.

The following season too, started well for Alan, as he scored regularly for his side. On 23 October 2014, Alan scored a hat-trick as Salzburg won 4–2 against Dinamo Zagreb in the UEFA Europa League group stage. He added another two on 27 November in a 3–1 win at Celtic Park which ensured that Salzburg became the first ever Austrian club to win in Scotland, striking in the 8th and 13th minutes. In his penultimate league match for his club, he scored a hat-trick, scoring in 52nd, 58th and 60th minute against FK Austria Wien. Despite leaving halfway through the season, with eight goals he was the joint top scorer in the season's Europa League, alongside Everton's Romelu Lukaku. This was the second consecutive time that a Red Bull player had achieved this honour, after his strike partner Soriano.