João Pinto

João Pinto
Pinto in 2013
Personal information
Full name João Manuel Vieira Pinto
Date of birth (1971-08-19) 19 August 1971
Place of birth Porto, Portugal
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Bairro do Falcão
1982–1983 Águias da Areosa
1983–1988 Boavista
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1988–1989 Boavista 17 (3)
1990–1991 Atlético Madrileño 30 (9)
1991–1992 Boavista 34 (8)
1992–2000 Benfica 220 (64)
2000–2004 Sporting CP 115 (28)
2004–2006 Boavista 57 (11)
2006–2008 Braga 33 (3)
Total 506 (126)
International career
1987–1988 Portugal U16 15 (5)
1988–1989 Portugal U18 22 (11)
1989–1991 Portugal U20 18 (3)
1991–1994 Portugal U21 15 (3)
1991–2002 Portugal 81 (23)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Portugal
UEFA European Championship
2000 Belgium-Netherlands
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Winner1991 Portugal
Winner1989 Saudi Arabia
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Runner-up1994 France
UEFA European Under-17 Championship
Runner-up1988 Spain
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

João Manuel Vieira Pinto CvIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w ˈpĩtu, ˈʒwɐ̃w -]; born 19 August 1971) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer 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", 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 and two European Championships.

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