Sérgio Pinto (footballer, born 1980)

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is da Silva and the second or paternal family name is Pinto.
Sérgio Pinto
Pinto with Fortuna Düsseldorf in 2014
Personal information
Full name Sérgio Ricardo da Silva Pinto
Date of birth (1980-10-16) 16 October 1980 (age 44)[1]
Place of birth Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal[1]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Winger
Youth career
1989–1993 Porto
1993–1995 TuS Haltern
1995–1999 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2004 Schalke 04 23 (0)
2000–2004 Schalke 04 II 87 (35)
2004–2007 Alemannia Aachen 87 (10)
2007–2013 Hannover 96 160 (19)
2013–2014 Levante 18 (0)
2014–2016 Fortuna Düsseldorf 21 (1)
Total 396 (65)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sérgio Ricardo da Silva Pinto (born 16 October 1980) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a right winger.

Having spent more than one decade playing in Germany, mainly with Schalke 04 and Hannover 96, he possessed dual nationality. He amassed Bundesliga totals of 212 matches and 21 goals over ten seasons.[2]

Club career

Early years and Schalke

Born in Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto District, Pinto played four years with Porto's youth teams, moving to Germany at the age of 12 with his family and settling in the North Rhine-Westphalia town of Haltern am See. He then continued his football development at TuS Haltern.[3]

In 1999, Pinto made his Bundesliga debut with Schalke 04 after four years at the club as a youth, appearing twice for the first team in the 1999–2000 season, the first game being a 3–2 away loss against Bayer Leverkusen on 11 September. Most of his spell, however, was spent with the reserves, as he only took part in 21 matches more in four seasons.[4]

Alemannia Aachen

Pinto signed for Alemannia Aachen of the 2. Bundesliga for 2004–05, for a transfer fee of €125,000.[5] He totalled 58 league appearances in his first two years while scoring eight goals, achieving promotion in his second;[6] on 25 November 2005, after helping to a 2–1 home win over SC Paderborn, he received the Tor des Monats (Goal of the Month) award from the ARD.[7]

In the subsequent top-flight campaign, Pinto appeared regularly for the North Rhine-Westphalia side, netting in a 2–0 victory at Energie Cottbus on 10 March 2007,[8] but the team eventually finished second-bottom and suffered relegation. In the ensuing summer, he reunited with former Aachen coach Dieter Hecking at Hannover 96, joining on a three-year contract that was previously agreed in February.[9]

Hannover 96

Pinto training with Hannover in 2010

Pinto played his first official game for his new club on 11 August 2007, starting and being replaced in the second half of a 1–0 home loss against Hamburger SV.[10] He contributed 31 games and five goals – notably in a 3–1 win over Bayern Munich also at the Niedersachsenstadion[11]– in the 2010–11 season as Hannover finished fourth and qualified for the UEFA Europa League, where he netted twice from 14 appearances in a quarter-final exit.[12][13][14]

In late October 2011, following another league home defeat of Bayern (2–1), Pinto was accused by his opponents of "poor sportsmanship".[15] He left the Lower Saxony side in June 2013, aged 32 and with 193 competitive appearances to his credit; he added to that 24 goals and 20 assists.[16]

Later career

On 6 July 2013, Pinto moved to Levante from Spain, agreeing to a two-year deal.[17] He played his first La Liga match on 18 August, featuring the first 45 minutes in a 7–0 away loss to Barcelona.[18]

Pinto returned to Germany on 9 June 2014, signing a one-year contract with Fortuna Düsseldorf.[19] He was released on 30 May 2016.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Sérgio Pinto" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  2. ^ Da Cunha, Pedro Jorge (7 April 2010). "Sérgio Pinto: um desconhecido com sete anos de Bundesliga" [Sérgio Pinto: unknown with seven years of Bundesliga] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  3. ^ Jansen, Benjamin (1 October 2010). "Sergio Pinto: Ein "Bad Boy" auf Schmusekurs" [Sergio Pinto: A "Bad Boy" is sweet-talking]. Aachener Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  4. ^ Richter, Michael (28 February 2012). "Sergio Pinto – Slomkas kleiner Giftzwerg" [Sérgio Pinto – Slomka's little mischief] (in German). Kicker. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Hecking setzt vorne weiterhin auf Meijer" [Hecking still bets on Meijer in the offensive] (in German). Kicker. 26 May 2005. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
  6. ^ Raack, Alex (25 August 2011). "Stern des Nordens" [Star of the North] (in German). 11 Freunde. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  7. ^ "November 2005" (in German). Sportschau. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  8. ^ "Aachen gewinnt in Unterzahl" [Aachen win undermanned]. Rheinische Post (in German). 10 March 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Pinto folgt Hecking nach Hannover" [Pinto follows Hecking to Hannover]. Rheinische Post (in German). 5 February 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  10. ^ "Benjamin macht den Erfolg im Nordderby perfekt" [Benjamin turns Northern derby success into a perfect affair]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 11 August 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Krafts Patzer bremst die Bayern aus" [Kraft's blunder thwarts Bayern] (in German). Kicker. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  12. ^ Sharp, David (20 October 2011). "FCK leave it late to deny Hannover". UEFA. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Einzelkritik Hannover 4:0 Lüttich – Abdellaoue hellwach, Kanu glücklos" [Individual review Hannover 4:0 Liége – Abdellaoue ebullient, Kanu luckless] (in German). Goal. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  14. ^ James, Andy (5 April 2012). "Atlético edge through against dogged Hannover". UEFA. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  15. ^ Eberts, Carsten (24 October 2011). "Pinto gehört nach L.A. zur Oscar-Verleihung" [Pinto belongs in L.A. at the Oscar Ceremony]. Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  16. ^ Groebner, Tobias (13 February 2020). ""Hannover 96 ist einfach eine Herzens-angelegenheit"" ["Hannover 96 is truly a matter of the heart"] (in German). The Walking Red. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  17. ^ "El portugués Sergio Pinto, nuevo refuerzo del Levante" [Portuguese Sergio Pinto, new Levante signing]. Marca (in Spanish). 6 July 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  18. ^ "Martino's dream start". ESPN FC. 18 August 2013. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
  19. ^ "Sergio Pinto wird Fortune" [Sergio Pinto becomes a Fortune] (in German). Fortuna Düsseldorf. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  20. ^ "Da Silva Pinto verabschiedet sich von der Fortuna" [Da Silva Pinto cuts ties with Fortuna] (in German). Kicker. 30 May 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.