Alan Kardec debuted for CR Vasco da Gama on 14 February 2007 in Manaus, in a 2–1 victory over Fast Clube in the Copa do Brasil. On 11 April 11, he scored his first goal for Vasco when his club and Botafogo drew 4–4 in a Campeonato Carioca match. On 21 July 2007, he scored his first Série A goal when Vasco beat Atlético Mineiro 4–0. He played 26 Série A matches and scored eight goals in 2007, while in 2008, he played 19 matches and scored two goals in that competition.
On 1 September 2009, Alan Kardec was loaned to Internacional. He played his first game as an Internacional player on 28 October, a Série A game against São Paulo at Estádio do Morumbi, in which he came as a substitute for Fabiano Eller.
Alan Kardec announced on 13 December 2009 that he will play for Benfica in the 2010 season after Vasco had accepted a €2.5 million bid from the Portuguese club. The following week, he signed a personal contract with Benfica. On 18 March 2010, he scored the winning goal in Benfica's UEFA Europa League match against Marseille with a ferocious strike from a hard angle.
In July 2011, was confirmed that Alan Kardec would be loaned for one season to Santos. Santos attempt to renew the loan in July 2012, but Benfica denied, only allowing the player to leave on a permanent deal. Alan Kardec played occasionally for Benfica's B-team, as he was effectively blocked in the first team by strikers Óscar Cardozo, Lima and Rodrigo.
In June 2013, Brazilian side Palmeiras confirmed the loan deal of Alan Kardec for one-and-half-years from Benfica, with an option to make the move permanent. Kardec comes back to Brazil as a substitute for Kléber, that had a bad passage for the São Paulo city based club. In 2014, Alan Kardec had a great start to the year, scoring against São Paulo and Corinthians, two of Palmeiras' biggest rivals.
São Paulo
Alan Kardec signed a five-year deal with São Paulo on 12 May 2014, with the club paying €4.5 million to Benfica.
International career
Alan Kardec played eight South American Youth Championship matches for the Brazilian under-20 team between January 20, 2009, and February 8, scoring two goals against Uruguay and Argentina respectively. He scored two goals in Brazil's first 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup game, played on September 27, 2009, against Costa Rica. He also scored a goal in the round of 16, against Uruguay, played on 7 October 2009, and the only goal of the semi-final, against Costa Rica, played on 13 October 2009. He was one of seven players put on standby for Brazil's 2014 FIFA World Cup team.
