- Ricardo Sá Pinto
Football player infobox
playername= Ricardo Sá Pinto
fullname = Ricardo Manuel Andrade e Silva Sá Pinto
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1972|10|10
cityofbirth =Porto
countryofbirth =Portugal
height = height|m=1.78
currentclub =
clubnumber = Retired
position =Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1991-1994
1994-1997
1997-2000
2000-2006
2006-2007
clubs =SC Salgueiros
Sporting LisbonReal Sociedad
Sporting LisbonStandard Liège
caps(goals) = 57 (17)
77 (20)
70 (6)
97 (14)
21 (2)
nationalyears = 1994-2001
nationalteam = Portugal
nationalcaps(goals) = 45 (10)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =Ricardo Manuel Andrade e Silva Sá Pinto (born
October 10 ,1972 inPorto ) is a former Portuguese footballer. He was known for his fighting spirit, best displayed in hisSporting CP stints.Football career
Sá Pinto debuted at
SC Salgueiros , and soon represented the Portuguese under-21s, helping the side reach the 1994 Under-21 Euro final.In 1994-95, Pinto joined "
Portuguese Liga " powerhouseSporting Clube de Portugal . After some solid performances, he attracted the attention ofLa Liga 'sReal Sociedad . On 26 March 1997, Sá Pinto assaulted then-national team coach Artur Jorge, upon hearing the news of not having been picked up for a match. The player travelled to "Estádio Nacional " inLisbon , where the national team was practicing, and punched Jorge in the face, being banned for one year from all national and international competitions. After 70 matches and 6 goals (only two seasons of action) inSpain , Sá Pinto returned to Sporting, where he played six further seasons, and eventually gained club captaincy. In 2006-07, he joined fellow Portuguese internationalSérgio Conceição atStandard Liége (withJorge Costa having retired at the club in the summer) in theJupiler League , and retired at almost 35.Sá Pinto received 45 caps for Portugal, 25 with Sporting and 20 for Real Sociedad, scoring 10 goals. His first game was on 7 September 1994 in
Belfast , in a 2-1 win over Northern Ireland, in which he scored the second goal. He played at the Euro 1996 finals, scoring the equalizing goal with Denmark (1-1), in the first game, and at the Euro 2000 finals.His last game was in the 6-0 win over Cyprus, on 6 June 2001. An injury prevented him from being present at the World Cup 2002 finals.
Honours
*Portuguese League 2001-02
*Portuguese Cup 1994-95, 2001-02External links
* [http://www.zerozero.eu/uk/jogador.php?id=296&search=1 Stats and profile at zerozero.pt]
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