Ricardo Sá Pinto

Ricardo Manuel Andrade e Silva Sá Pinto (born 10 October 1972) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a forward, and a current manager.

Ricardo Sá Pinto
Pinto with Braga in 2019
Personal information
Full name Ricardo Manuel Andrade e Silva Sá Pinto
Date of birth (1972-10-10) 10 October 1972
Place of birth Porto, Portugal
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Youth career
1982–1987 Porto
1987–1991 Salgueiros
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1994 Salgueiros 57 (17)
1994–1997 Sporting CP 77 (20)
1997–2000 Real Sociedad 70 (6)
2000–2006 Sporting CP 97 (14)
2006–2007 Standard Liège 21 (2)
Total 322 (59)
National team
1992–1994 Portugal U21 10 (0)
1994–2001 Portugal 45 (10)
Teams managed
2010–2011 União Leiria (assistant)
2012 Sporting CP
2013 Red Star
2013–2014 OFI
2014–2015 Atromitos
2015 Belenenses
2016 Al-Fateh
2017 Atromitos
2017–2018 Standard Liège
2018–2019 Legia Warsaw
2019 Braga
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He was known for his fighting spirit, best displayed in his stints at Sporting, where he was dubbed "Ricardo Lion Heart" by the club's fans.[1] In a career which was cut short by injury and suspension, he appeared in 230 Primeira Liga games (scoring 51 goals), also playing abroad in Spain for two years.

Sá Pinto appeared with the Portugal national team in two European Championships, reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2000. He started working as a manager in 2012, having spells at Sporting, Red Star, OFI, Atromitos, Belenenses, Al-Fateh, Standard Liège, Legia Warsaw and Braga.

Playing career

Club

Born in Porto, Sá Pinto made his professional debut with local S.C. Salgueiros and soon represented the Portuguese under-21s, helping the side reach the 1994 UEFA European Championship final. He first appeared in the Primeira Liga with the former on 30 August 1992, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–2 away loss against S.C. Farense.

In the 1994–95 season, Sá Pinto joined Sporting CP. After some solid performances he attracted the attention of La Liga's Real Sociedad, scoring in his first official game for his new club, a 3–3 home draw against Real Oviedo on 30 August 1998.[2]

After 70 matches and six goals (only two seasons of action due to international suspension) in Spain, Sá Pinto returned to Sporting where he played six further years, troubled by many injuries,[3][4] although he eventually gained team captaincy. In the 2006–07 campaign he joined fellow Portuguese international Sérgio Conceição at Standard Liège – with Jorge Costa having retired at the club in the summer – in the Belgian top level,[5] and retired at almost 35.[6]

International

Sá Pinto received 45 caps for Portugal, 25 with Sporting and 20 for Real Sociedad, scoring nine times. His first game was on 7 September 1994 in a 2–1 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast, in which he netted the second goal; he played at UEFA Euro 1996,[7] equalising against Denmark (1–1) in the group stage opener,[8] and Euro 2000. He scored six times in qualification for the latter tournament, including a hat-trick in an 8–0 demolition of Liechtenstein in Coimbra on 9 June 1999.[9]

On 26 March 1997, Sá Pinto assaulted national team coach Artur Jorge upon hearing the news of not having been picked up for a match. The player travelled to Estádio Nacional in Lisbon where the team was practicing, and punched the manager in the face, being banned for one year from all national and international competitions.[10]

Sá Pinto's last appearance was in the 6–0 win over Cyprus for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, on 6 June 2001.[11] An injury prevented him from being present at the finals.[12]

Sá Pinto: International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition

[13]

19 June 1996Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, England Denmark1–11–1UEFA Euro 1996
26 September 1998Puskás Ferenc Stadium, Budapest, Hungary Hungary1–11–3Euro 2000 qualifying
36 September 1998Puskás Ferenc Stadium, Budapest, Hungary Hungary1–21–3Euro 2000 qualifying
426 March 1999Estádio D. Afonso Henriques (1965), Guimarães, Portugal Azerbaijan1–07–0Euro 2000 qualifying
59 June 1999Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Liechtenstein1–08–0Euro 2000 qualifying
69 June 1999Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Liechtenstein3–08–0Euro 2000 qualifying
79 June 1999Estádio Cidade de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal Liechtenstein4–08–0Euro 2000 qualifying
823 February 2000Stade du Pays de Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium Belgium1–11–1Friendly
92 June 2000Estádio Municipal de Chaves, Chaves, Portugal Wales2–03–0Friendly
103 September 2000Kadrioru Stadium, Tallinn, Estonia Estonia0–31–32002 World Cup qualification

Coaching career

In early November 2009, Sá Pinto returned to Sporting, replacing former teammate Pedro Barbosa as director of football as coach Paulo Bento was sacked following a string of poor performances/results. On 21 January 2010, following a physical confrontation with club player Liédson in the team's locker room after the 4–3 home win against C.D. Mafra for the Taça de Portugal, he immediately presented his resignation.[14]

Sá Pinto had his first coaching experience in 2010, being named assistant manager at U.D. Leiria under Pedro Caixinha. On 13 February 2012, after a spell with Sporting's under-19, he was appointed first-team manager, replacing fired Domingos Paciência.[15]

On 25 May 2012, even though Sporting could only rank fourth in the league and lost the domestic cup final, Sá Pinto signed a new two-year contract with the Lions.[16] On 4 October, however, following a 0–3 away loss against Videoton FC – led by former national teammate Paulo Sousa – in that season's UEFA Europa League, he was relieved of his duties.[17]

Sá Pinto was appointed at Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade on 18 March 2013,[18] winning the first eight SuperLiga matches in charge of the club but resigning his post on 19 June, in disagreement with its board of directors.[19] From October 2013 to February 2015 he worked in the Superleague Greece with OFI Crete F.C. and Atromitos FC.[20][21]

Sá Pinto returned to Portugal and its capital in June 2015, after agreeing to become C.F. Os Belenenses manager in replacement of Lito Vidigal whilst signing a two-year contract.[22] On 15 December, however, after a 3–4 away loss against Académica de Coimbra and failure to qualify from the Europa League group stage, he resigned from his position.[23]

On 29 May 2016, Sá Pinto was appointed manager of Al-Fateh SC.[24][25] On 11 June 2017, after a second spell with Atromitos and even though he had agreed to a new deal after an eighth-place finish,[26] he left for Standard Liège;[27] in spite of initially underperforming in the Belgian League,[28][29] he led his team to the conquest of the domestic cup in his first year[30][31] as well as a final runner-up league position,[32] but left on 20 May 2018.[33]

In August 2018, Sá Pinto was announced as the new manager of Legia Warsaw after signing a three-year contract with the Ekstraklasa club.[34] He was sacked the following April with the team in second, five points off Lechia Gdańsk with three games remaining.[35]

On 3 July 2019, Sá Pinto returned to his country for the first time in four years, taking over S.C. Braga on a two-year contract.[36] He was dismissed on 23 December with the team eighth in the league, despite winning their Europa League group.[37]

Managerial statistics
As of match played 22 December 2019[38][39]
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team Nat From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Sporting 13 February 2012 4 October 2012 30 15 7 8 41 31 +10 050.00
Red Star 19 March 2013 19 June 2013 11 8 0 3 17 9 +8 072.73
OFI 16 October 2013 25 May 2014 34 15 7 12 35 39 −4 044.12
Atromitos 25 September 2014 5 February 2015 19 5 9 5 20 20 +0 026.32
Belenenses 9 June 2015 15 December 2015 26 8 8 10 25 42 −17 030.77
Al-Fateh 29 May 2016 23 September 2016 5 1 1 3 5 9 −4 020.00
Atromitos 5 February 2017 11 June 2017 13 5 2 6 11 12 −1 038.46
Standard Liège 11 June 2017 20 May 2018 46 22 14 10 78 56 +22 047.83
Legia Warsaw 13 August 2018 1 April 2019 28 15 7 6 42 29 +13 053.57
Braga 3 July 2019 23 December 2019 30 18 5 7 55 36 +19 060.00
Total 242 112 60 70 329 283 +46 046.28

Honours

Player

Club

Sporting

International

Portugal U-21

Manager

Sporting

Standard Liège

References
  1. Santos, João Carlos (21 January 2010). "Sá Pinto, "coração de leão"" [Sá Pinto, "lion heart"]. Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  2. Parrondo, Óscar (31 August 1998). "Festival anotador entre la Real Sociedad y el Oviedo" [Scoring festival between Real Sociedad and Oviedo]. ABC (in Spanish). Retrieved 27 March 2014.
  3. "Sá Pinto's misery continues". UEFA. 19 January 2002. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  4. "Knee trouble sidelines Sá Pinto". UEFA. 22 September 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  5. "Fresh starts for Tommasi and Sá Pinto". UEFA. 31 July 2006. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  6. "Enough is enough for Sá Pinto". UEFA. 13 June 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  7. Hodgson, Guy (1 June 1996). "The rising force in Europe counting on their foreign legion; CHAMPIONSHIP COUNTDOWN: No 9 Portugal". The Independent. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  8. "Holders Denmark draw with Portugal". UEFA. 6 October 2003. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  9. Nascimento, Hélio (10 June 1999). "Coimbra tem mais encanto com golos dos manos Pinto" [Coimbra has more charm with goals from the Pinto brothers]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  10. "Sá Pinto forced into early retirement". UEFA. 27 April 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
  11. "Portugal-Chipre, 6–0 (Pauleta 37m e 72m, Pedro Barbosa 55m e 60m, e João Pinto 78m e 82m)" [Portugal-Cyprus, 6–0 (Pauleta 37m and 72m, Pedro Barbosa 55m and 60m, e João Pinto 78m and 82m)]. Record (in Portuguese). 6 June 2001. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  12. Mateus, José J. (14 May 2002). "Operação Mundial começou ontem sem grandes surpresas" [Operation World Cup started off with no major surprises]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  13. "Ricardo Sá Pinto". European Football. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  14. "Sporting director quits after reported fracas". USA Today. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  15. "Sporting: Domingos out, Sa Pinto in". PortuGOAL. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  16. Bernabei, Simone (25 May 2012). "Ufficiale: Sporting Lisbona, rinnova il tecnico Sa Pinto" [Official: Sporting Lisbon, coach Sa Pinto renews] (in Italian). Tutto Mercato Web. Retrieved 25 May 2015.
  17. "Official – Sá Pinto relieved of his duties; Oceano appointed caretaker coach". PortuGOAL. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
  18. "Red Star Belgrade turn to Sa Pinto". FIFA. 19 March 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  19. "Sa Pinto quits as Crvena Zvezda coach". FIFA. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  20. "Sa Pinto resigns as Atromitos coach". FIFA. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 27 February 2015.
  21. "Sá Pinto deixa Atromitos devido a motivos pessoais" [Sá Pinto leaves Atromitos due to personal reasons]. Record (in Portuguese). 5 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  22. "Sá Pinto oficializado no Restelo" [Sá Pinto made official at the Restelo]. Record (in Portuguese). 9 June 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  23. Correia Azevedo, Marta (15 December 2015). "Sá Pinto deixa Restelo" [Sá Pinto leaves the Restelo]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  24. الفتح يتعاقد رسمياً مع البرتغالي ريكاردو سابينتو [Al Fateh signed a contract with Ricardo Sá Pinto] (in Arabic). Al-Fateh SC. 29 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  25. "Ricardo Sá Pinto vai treinar o Al-Fateh da Arábia Saudita" [Ricardo Sá Pinto will coach Saudi Arabia's Al-Fateh] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 29 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  26. "OFICIAL: Sá Pinto mais um ano no Atromitos" [OFFICIAL: Sá Pinto another year in Atromitos] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  27. "Sá Pinto deixa Atromitos para treinar Standard Liége" [Sá Pinto leaves Atromitos to coach Standard Liége]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). 11 June 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  28. "Sá Pinto sofre nova goleada com o Standard na Bélgica" [Sá Pinto suffers new rout with Standard in Belgium] (in Portuguese). Rádio e Televisão de Portugal. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  29. "Bélgica: Standard Liège de Sá Pinto cede novo empate" [Belgium: Sá Pinto's Standard Liège allow new draw]. Record (in Portuguese). 23 December 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  30. "3–2 not enough to overcome Standard". Club Brugge KV. 8 February 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  31. Geril, Jürgen (18 March 2018). "Circus Sa Pinto haalt de beker binnen: Standard-coach was al crazy, nu is hij nog zotter" [Circus Sa Pinto scoops the cup: Standard coach was already crazy, now he is even more foolish]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  32. "Bélgica: Standard Liège de Sá Pinto conquista segundo lugar" [Belgium: Sá Pinto's Standard Liège conquer second place] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2018.
  33. "Jupiler Pro League – Ricardo Sa Pinto bevestigt vertrek bij Standard Luik" [Jupiler Pro League – Ricardo Sá Pinto confirms departure from Standard Liège]. Metro (in Dutch). 20 May 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  34. "Sá Pinto confirmado no Légia Varsóvia" [Sá Pinto confirmed at Legia Warsaw]. Record (in Portuguese). 13 August 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  35. "Legia Varsóvia confirma saída de Sá Pinto" [Legia Warsaw confirm exit of Sá Pinto]. Observador (in Portuguese). 2 April 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  36. "Treinador Ricardo Sá Pinto assina por dois anos com o Sporting de Braga" [Manager Ricardo Sá Pinto signs for two years with Sporting de Braga]. Observador (in Portuguese). 3 July 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  37. "Ricardo Sa Pinto: Rangers' Europa League opponents Braga sack manager". BBC Sport. 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  38. "Ricardo Sá Pinto". Zerozero. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  39. Ricardo Sá Pinto coach profile at Soccerway
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