Aged 33, Alhinho left Benfica, played three more years in the Portuguese top flight, with Portimonense S.C. and S.C. Farense (without ever suffering relegation) and retired from football. He immediately started coaching, with modest Lusitano GC; in the following 22 years he managed teams in Portugal (two in the top division), Morocco, Angola, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
