João Manuel Vieira Pinto (; born 19 August 1971) is a Portuguese retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played mostly as a forward. Blessed with playmaking and goalscoring ability, he made his name mostly at a domestic level and as a key figure in the Portuguese national team's "

Golden Generation In sport, a Golden Generation, or Golden Team is an exceptionally gifted group of players of similar age, whose achievements reach or are expected to reach a level of success beyond that which their team had previously achieved. The term was firs ...

", collecting 151 caps and scoring 45 goals across all levels (81/23 for the senior team alone) and representing the country at the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

and two

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

. At the club level, Pinto started his career with Boavista, but it was mainly associated with two of the biggest clubs in the country, Benfica and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, with which he won one

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

each for a total of six major titles. Over 19 top-division seasons, he played 476 matches and netted 117 goals.

Career

As a youth, Pinto played for Bairro do Falcão (where he was born, in

Campanhã Campanhã () is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish"), located in the city of Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is th ...

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

's east side) and Águias da Areosa FC, finishing his development at

Boavista F.C. Boavista Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Boavista, is a Portuguese professional sports club from the of Porto that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese football, at the Estádio do B ...

after joining its academy as a 12-year-old. Early on, he impressed with his speed and ball control, and was subsequently one of the brightest stars in Portugal's wins in the

FIFA U-20 World Cup The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

and

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, being one of three players ever to have been on the winning side in this competition twice along with

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

Fernando Brassard (whom however did not play in the first tournament) and Argentinian

Sergio Agüero Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is regarded as one of th ...

. Additionally, he made his

debut at only 17. Pinto's performance in the first youth competition earned him a transfer to

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

in 1990, but he was placed instead with the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...

. After a forgettable season he rejoined Boavista, appeared in every match, scored eight goals and won the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

, in a final against

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

rivals

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

. Shortly after, he signed for

S.L. Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...

. Whilst with Benfica, Pinto's career was threatened in late 1992 by a

collapsed lung A pneumothorax is collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. Symptoms typically include sudden onset of sharp, one-sided chest pain and shortness of breath. In a minority of cases, a one-way valve is formed by ...

during an international match for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

for the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

qualifiers, eventually recovering but being unable to help his team win the title. However, the next season, he played arguably his best football there, his best moment coming in the

Lisbon derby The Derby de Lisboa or Dérbi de Lisboa (English: Lisbon derby) is the biggest List of association football club rivalries in Europe#Portugal, football derby match in Portugal. It is played between Lisbon-based clubs S.L. Benfica, Benfica and Spo ...

against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, where he scored three goals and was on the play of the remaining three in a 6–3 win at the

Estádio José Alvalade The Estádio José Alvalade (; ') is a Football (soccer), football stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, home of Sporting Clube de Portugal. It was built adjacent to the site of the Estádio José Alvalade (1956), older stadium. The stadium is named afte ...

; this result proved to be decisive for the club's clinching of the 1994 national championship. Dubbed "The Golden Boy", Pinto won

captaincy A captaincy ( , , ) is a historical administrative division of the former Spanish colonies, Spanish and Portuguese colonies, Portuguese colonial empires. It was instituted as a method of organization, directly associated with the home-rule admin ...

from veteran

António Veloso António Augusto da Silva Veloso (born 31 January 1957) is a Portuguese former footballer who played most of his professional career with Benfica. A gritty defender who could appear in the flanks and on occasion in the middle, he spent a de ...

after the latter's retirement in 1995, but was unable to win a national title again. Following a wage dispute with president

João Vale e Azevedo João António de Araújo Vale e Azevedo (born 17 May 1957) is a Portuguese former lawyer who was the 31st president of sports club S.L. Benfica. In relation to his three-year club presidency, he was convicted of embezzlement, document forge ...

, he was released from contract weeks before the

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

(making him the only

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in the competition), where he helped the national team reach the semi-finals after scoring eight goals during the

qualifying stage Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

, netting through a header against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in a 3–2 comeback win in the group stage on 13 June 2000; he was also selected for the

Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

tournament. Subsequently, Pinto had several offers from abroad, eventually agreeing to a four-year deal at Sporting. After a relatively poor season in 2000–01, the ''Lions'' acquired four-time Portuguese Golden Boot winner Mário Jardel, and Pinto returned to his golden years in a magnificent run which ended with the claiming of his second title; named the "father of the team" by the Brazilian, took part in all but one game and scored nine goals. Although a highly talented player, Pinto was also known for a series of red cards for aggression and bad tackles. His feud with Porto player and national teammate Paulinho Santos lasted for years, and both would be frequently ejected after hitting each other; he also stirred some controversy when he assaulted a fireman in the league fixture at Rio Ave F.C. on 20 September 1997. The lowest point, however, was when Pinto hit Argentine referee Ángel Sánchez who had sent him off after a bad tackle early into the 1–0 loss to hosts

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in the third group game of the

. He was suspended for six months. Pinto ended his Portugal career with 81 caps and 23 goals. Never recovering fully from the World Cup incident, he failed to impress in the following seasons, when Sporting failed to reach the top two spots, and in 2004 he was released from contract, returning to Boavista. Although he was close to signing with

Al-Hilal FC Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club (), simply known as Al-Hilal, is a professional multi-sports club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their Association football, football team competes in the Saudi Pro League. In Arabic, Al-Hilal means "the Crescent Mo ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in the January

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

, he remained with his first professional club. After a second season carrying Boavista's squad (who almost

qualified Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

for the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

, with him scoring nine league goals and receiving numerous

Player of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

awards), Pinto accepted the invitation of S.C. Braga's board in July 2006, signing for one year. He netted twice in 24 appearances in an eventual fourth-place finish for the

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

side, and renewed his link for the 2007–08 campaign; however, during February 2008, he trained with

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

and, later that month, announced the termination of his contract at Braga, retiring shortly after aged 36. Subsequently, Pinto worked with the

Portuguese Football Federation The Portuguese Football Federation ( , FPF) is the governing body of Association football, football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union (, UPF) by the three existing regional associations of Lisbon Footbal ...

in directorial capacities.

Personal life

upPinto in 2011 Still in his teens, Pinto had two children from his first marriage to Carla Baía; the elder, Tiago, first played professionally with C.D. Olivais e Moscavide. In 2008 he married television presenter Marisa Cruz, with the couple divorcing five years later. Pinto's younger brother,

Sérgio Sergius is a male given name of Ancient Roman origin after the name of the Latin ''gens'' Sergia or Sergii of regal and republican ages. It is a common Christian name, in honour of Saint Sergius, or in Kyivan Rus', of Sergius of the Holy Caves ...

, was also a footballer, having competed almost exclusively in the lower leagues of Portugal and one year in England.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Portugal's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pinto goal''.

Honours

Boavista *

: 1991–92 Benfica *

: 1993–94 *Taça de Portugal: 1992–93, 1995–96 Sporting CP *Primeira Liga: 2001–02 *Taça de Portugal: 2001–02 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Portugal *

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

runner-up:

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

UEFA European Under-18 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-19, is an annual football competition, contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain is the most successful team in this competit ...

runner-up:

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

UEFA European Under-16 Championship The UEFA European Under-17 Championship, or simply the Euro Under-17, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the men's under-17 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Spain national under-17 football team, ...

runner-up:

Individual * CNID Footballer of the Year: 1992, 1993, 1994 * Portuguese Golden Ball: 1993, 1996 * SJPF Player of the Month: February 2006

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Joao 1971 births Living people 20th-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Porto Men's association football forwards Primeira Liga players Boavista F.C. players S.L. Benfica footballers Sporting CP footballers S.C. Braga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Atlético Madrid B players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA Euro 2000 players 2002 FIFA World Cup players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain

Career

Personal life

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

Further reading

External links