João Domingos da Silva Pinto (born 21 November 1961) is a Portuguese former footballer and manager. Having spent his entire professional career with Porto (16 years, winning a total of 24 major titles, including nine Primeira Liga and the 1987 European Cup), he was regarded as one of the greatest Portuguese right-backs of all time.[2]
Pinto represented the Portugal national team for more than one decade, appearing with them in one World Cup and one European Championship.
Pinto was born in Oliveira do Douro, Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto District. A FC Porto trainee, it did not take him long to establish himself in the side's starting XI. When Fernando Gomes broke his leg before the 1986–87 European Cup final against FC Bayern Munich, he was picked as the captain, and reportedly only released the cup on Portuguese soil after the 2–1 win in Vienna.[3]
Always an undisputed starter, Pinto retired after the 1996–97 season after 16 years as a professional, helping the northerners to their first three Primeira Liga titles in a row (in total, he won nine national championships and four Taça de Portugal, and was part of the treble-winning squad which won the Champions Cup, the European Supercup and the Intercontinental Cup). Given his devotion and long service to the club, he was subsequently given a place coaching its youth teams.[2]
Pinto totalled 70 caps with one goal for Portugal,[4] being selected as captain on 42 occasions. After seeing the nation's 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification hopes squashed following a 1–0 away loss against Italy he left the field in tears, further enhancing his nickname, Capitão; he played internationally in UEFA Euro 1984[5] and at the 1986 World Cup – Bobby Robson, who coached Porto, once remarked of him: "He has two hearts and four legs. It's extremely difficult to find a player like him."[6]
In September 2023, Pinto was given the One-Club Man Award by Athletic Bilbao, a Spanish club renowned for its youth system policies.[7]
Pinto began working as a head coach in the Segunda Liga. He started with S.C. Covilhã, moving in January 2013 to G.D. Chaves[8] and helping the latter side to promote to that level in his only season.[9]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Porto | 1981–82 | Primeira Divisão | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 1982–83 | Primeira Divisão | 23 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | ||
| 1983–84 | Primeira Divisão | 26 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9[d] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 1984–85 | Primeira Divisão | 30 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2[d] | 0 | 4[b] | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 1985–86 | Primeira Divisão | 18 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 27 | 1 | |
| 1986–87 | Primeira Divisão | 29 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 9[e] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 45 | 3 | |
| 1987–88 | Primeira Divisão | 34 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | 3[f] | 0 | 48 | 1 | |
| 1988–89 | Primeira Divisão | 35 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3[e] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 44 | 1 | |
| 1989–90 | Primeira Divisão | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[c] | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | ||
| 1990–91 | Primeira Divisão | 30 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 5[e] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 42 | 1 | |
| 1991–92 | Primeira Divisão | 33 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 1[b] | 0 | 44 | 8 | |
| 1992–93 | Primeira Divisão | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8[g] | 0 | 3[b] | 1 | 38 | 3 | |
| 1993–94 | Primeira Divisão | 31 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 10[g] | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 49 | 1 | |
| 1994–95 | Primeira Divisão | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | 3[b] | 0 | 40 | 0 | |
| 1995–96 | Primeira Divisão | 13 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4[g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 0 | |
| 1996–97 | Primeira Divisão | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2[g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Career Total | 408 | 17 | 75 | 2 | 76 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 587 | 20 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 1983 | 4 | 0 |
| 1984 | 10 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1986 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1987 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1989 | 11 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 3 | 0 | |
| 1991 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 7 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 70 | 1 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 April 1989 | Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal |  Switzerland |
1–0 | 3–1 | 1990 World Cup qualification |
Porto
Individual
Chaves
Portugal squads | |||||||
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