Hélder Tavares

Hélder Luís Lopes Vieira Tavares (born 26 December 1989) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish club Altay S.K. and the Cape Verde national team.

Club career

Born in Santa Maria dos Olivais, Lisbon of Cape Verdean descent, Tavares played his first years as a senior in amateur football. In the summer of 2013, aged nearly 24, he signed with S.C. Beira-Mar in the second division from C.D. Pinhalnovense in the third.

On 27 July 2013, Tavares made his professional debut, playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 away loss against Portimonense S.C. in the season's League Cup. He first appeared in the division two championship on 12 August, again playing the entire match in a 2–3 home defeat to FC Porto B.

In the 2015 off-season, after one year in Romania with FC Oțelul Galați, Tavares joined Primeira Liga club C.D. Tondela. His first match in the Portuguese top tier occurred on 14 August by featuring 70 minutes in a 1–2 home loss against Sporting CP, and he finished his debut campaign with 30 appearances as his team managed to avoid relegation; in June 2016, he renewed his contract for another year.

In January 2019, as his contract was due to expire on 30 June, Tavares was sold to Altay S.K. of the Turkish TFF First League and agreed to a one-and-a-half-year deal.

International career

Tavares made his debut for Cape Verde on 28 March 2017, in a friendly against Luxembourg.