He's one of the most in-form Australian players currently playing in Europe. Despite many challenges and obstacles over his career, striker Anthony Carter remains hopeful that his red-hot form can help earn him a call-up for the green and gold of the Socceroos one day.
Anthony Carter in action for FC Alverca in the Liga Portugal 2 competition. (Image: Filipe Amorim)
From Europe to Asia to Australia and back to Europe, 30-year-old forward Anthony Carter has built quite the international portfolio in his football career. However, one thing he has lacked throughout his career was week-in, week-out minutes and staying somewhere long-term. In the 2024/25 season, the Melbourne-born striker has gained some much-needed consistency as he looks to take his FC Alverca side onto a special and surprising promotion charge to the top tier of Portuguese football.
Despite standing as the current Golden Boot leader in the Portuguese second tier, it hasn't always been easy for the former Macarthur Bulls forward throughout his career. At 18, Carter signed his first professional contract with one of Romania's biggest and most historic clubs, CFR Cluj. But things never got going for him in Romania, with minimal minutes due to injuries and being in a playing group full of stars and experience. The struggles and setbacks in Romania at a young age helped him become the footballer and person he is today.
"It was the most learning experience of my life. It was probably the most difficult time for me in a professional sense. I learned a lot, went through a lot, didn't play too much there, did my crucial ligament at 19," Carter told Front Page Football about his time in Cluj.
"It was really difficult to find my feet there, and also, there were a lot of players, particularly strikers who came on loan from Fiorentina and Cristian Lopez, who came from Real Madrid's youth team. It was very difficult to have an opportunity there; it was the most difficult time of my life. But it was also a time that I don't regret because you learn so much from that, and Cluj is a big club in Romania.
"I was lucky to have that opportunity. Every opportunity is a good one; it's just sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. But I definitely learned so much from [my time in Romania]."
After he departed CRF Cluj, Carter had only one thing on his mind: to get more game time and experience, something crucial for every young striker. An inexperienced yet eager Carter signed with Portuguese third-tier side Trofense, where he picked up his rhythm and scored multiple times. After that period, in 2018, one of Portugal's and Europe's biggest clubs, SL Benfica, offered Carter an opportunity to sign a contract.
Although he never featured for Benfica's senior team in the top division of Portuguese football, Carter gained valuable experience training with some of Portugal's brightest talents, including current Manchester City defender Ruben Dias, who is now one of Europe's best defenders. Carter left Benfica's B side after one season. However, he continued his journey in the country by signing for second-tier outfit Académico de Viseu.
During his time at Académico de Viseu, Carter managed to add more goals to his resume. He was part of a unique Taça de Portugal cup run that saw the second-tier side progress to the competition's semi-finals - ultimately knocked out by Portuguese giants FC Porto.
His time at Académico helped boost his goalscoring record, and he even got to share the pitch with current Liverpool and Colombian winger Luis Diaz, as well as current Paris St-Germain and Portuguese midfielder Vitinha.
In 2022, after a season-long stint in Thailand for Bangkok United, Carter finally returned to his home country to sign his first professional contract in the A-League Men with Macarthur FC under then-manager Dwight Yorke. It was initially a new chapter for the club with the former Manchester United star at the helm and an exciting squad on paper.
For Carter, the experience of playing in Australia was memorable, and the quality of the competition was something he admired. He was part of Macarthur's historic success when they lifted the 2022 Australia Cup, their first trophy in club history. However, despite being part of some Australian football history, his time down under was cut short. Nonetheless, the A-League Men remains a competition the 30-year-old thoroughly enjoyed.
"I thought it was the right move as I hadn't been close to my family over the years," Carter said about his time in Australia.
"It started really well. I'm really grateful for the opportunity as well that Macarthur gave me. Winning the Australia Cup was a great achievement; it was the first trophy for the club, so it was great to be a part of that. Unfortunately, things didn't go as well as I thought it would go, but that's football. I wish I could have shown more, but unfortunately, things didn't go to plan.
"I would love to come back [to the A-League]," he added.
"I really enjoyed football [in Australia]; I was very surprised at how physical it was. I would love to come back; there are great players, and the stadiums are in fantastic condition. I think the A-League is really growing. Unfortunately, I can't speak so much because I didn't really spend that much time there, but I loved the league. It's great to see the young kids as well getting a lot of opportunities and I think that's just fantastic."
With his time in Australia cut short, Carter returned to Portugal, a country he deeply loves and fondly knows, to again look for consistency and game time. For most of his career, it's something that he has rarely had across the many clubs he has featured, especially in Romania and Australia. But that changed when he made an off-season move in the European summer of 2024 to join FC Alverca in the Portuguese second tier. The move turned out to be a significant turning point in Carter's career.
FC Alverca, a newly promoted side up from the third tier, is about a 30-minute drive north of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. It's a club that isn't in the spotlight compared to others in the country but is followed by a tight-knit community. One of the most significant results in club history came in 2019 when they defeated Sporting CP in the Taça de Portugal. But since that match, the club hasn't genuinely made waves across the country. However, their fans remain through the highs and lows of the club week in and week out.
"The club is fantastic," Carter said about FC Alverca.
"It's great that they're back in the professional leagues. I've been following them for quite a while, and they're always fighting to get back into the professional [status]. The people are fantastic, always willing to help the players grow (...) The community is very good; it's what you want to be a part of, having people like that around you makes it easier to play.
"The playing group is fantastic; we have a lot of experience, and also we have youth (...) We have a lot of players who have come from Palmieras, Cruizero, in Brazil, so it's a really tight group.
"We're taking it game by game, we're growing, we're getting into the coach's ideas really well. I think that's the most important thing, taking it step by step, first maintain our status in the second [division] and then work to be as high as possible on the table. There's obviously a lot of games left, but we're just taking it step by step."
Carter has scored 14 goals with five assists to his name across all competitions in the 2024/25 season. He is at the centre of an exciting time for FC Alverca; the club is challenging to be promoted to the top tier of Portuguese football. Their performance has taken many by surprise, but the club is at the heart of an intense promotion race, and with two positions in the second tier guaranteeing top-flight status, it is well within their reach.
"At the moment, it's the best time of my career," Carter added about his form, which has seen him win plenty of Man of the Match awards and the Liga Portugal 2 Player of the Month for December 2024.
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"Consistency, I think it's something I've struggled with over my career, but I've really found myself now. It's all credit to the team. Without the team, these numbers wouldn't be possible. The individual awards wouldn't be possible without my team. It's a team sport, of course, and I'm just trying to do my best to help the team with my goals and assists. I've said it in many interviews in the past: the team comes first."
Despite his experiences abroad, Carter has never represented Australia at a youth or senior level; however, despite being in the later stage of his career, he remains ambitious to represent the Socceroos one day, and it is something that motivates him to score goals every week in Portugal.
"Ever since I moved to Portugal, all my career, my dream is to play for Australia," Carter said.
"I don't think there's anything better than playing and representing your country, especially the country I love. You have dreams when you grow up, and one of them was to play in the Champions League; it's very difficult, but I think it's possible. But my biggest dream is to represent my country. I would love to hopefully have the chance one day.
"It's my life's work (playing football), and to get there one day would be a dream come true. It's not something I'm going to give up on, and I'm going to keep fighting and working towards it. It would be an absolute dream to represent my country."
On Sunday afternoon local time, Anthony Carter and his FC Alverca side will look to continue their promotion push when they travel north of Portugal to take on Leixões SC on matchday 23 of the 2024/25 Liga Portugal 2 season.
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