Alexandre da Silva (born 21 March 1974), better known by his nickname Chiquinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
He began his football career at local team União São João de Araras and was, in 1997, on the brink of sealing a transfer to German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, after Dortmund was alerted to the player's talents by their former Brazil international Júlio César.
This transfer did not work out as fellow Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach rushed through an agreement with União São João to sign the player on a three-year contract for 2.2 million DEM.
Originally played as left sided wing back by Mönchengladbach's managers (and subsequently labelled as a surplus), Chiquinho was just as unable to meet expectations when he was given some share of playing-time in midfield under then manager Hans Meyer.
[2] This resulted in Mönchengladbach's decision not to extend his deal and forced the player to join Rot-Weiß Oberhausen.