Ricardo Sá Pinto

Born in Porto, Sá Pinto made his professional debut with local 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 2–0 away loss against 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, signing a four-year contract in July 1997 for a fee of 400 million pesetas, but was issued with a year-long worldwide suspension before making his debut. He scored in his first official game for his new club, a 3–3 home draw with Real Oviedo on 30 August 1998. After 70 matches and six goals in Spain, Sá Pinto returned to Sporting where he played six further years, troubled by many injuries, 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 Pro League, and retired aged 34.

Sá Pinto received 45 caps for Portugal, 25 with Sporting and 20 for Real Sociedad, scoring ten 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, equalising against Denmark (1–1) in the group stage opener, 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. 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 the 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. Sá Pinto's last appearance was in the 6–0 victory over Cyprus for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, on 6 June 2001. An injury prevented him from being present at the finals.

Early years (2009–2012)

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 Mafra in the Taça de Portugal, he immediately presented his resignation. Sá Pinto had his first coaching experience in 2010, being named assistant at União de Leiria under Pedro Caixinha. On 13 February 2012, after a spell with Sporting under-19s, he was appointed first-team manager, replacing the fired Domingos Paciência. 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. On 4 October, however, following a 3–0 away loss to Videoton – led by former national teammate Paulo Sousa – in that season's UEFA Europa League, he was relieved of his duties.

Stints abroad (2013–2019)

Sá Pinto was appointed at Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade on 18 March 2013, 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. From October 2013 to February 2015, he worked in the Super League Greece with OFI and Atromitos. Sá Pinto returned to Portugal and its capital in June 2015, after agreeing to become Belenenses manager in…

Player

Sporting CP

Primeira Liga: 2001–02 Taça de Portugal: 1994–95, 2001–02 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1995, 2000 UEFA Cup runner-up: 2004–05 Portugal U-21

UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1994

Manager

Sporting CP

Taça de Portugal runner-up: 2011–12 Standard Liège

Belgian Cup: 2017–18 Esteghlal

Iranian Super Cup: 2022 Iranian Hazfi Cup runner-up: 2022–23 APOEL

Cypriot First Division: 2023–24 Pafos

Cypriot Cup: 2025–26 Cypriot Super Cup: 2026