Mica Pinto

Michael "Mica" Gonçalves Pinto (born 4 June 1993) is a professional footballer who plays for Dutch club Sparta Rotterdam as a left back.

Mica Pinto
Personal information
Full name Michael Gonçalves Pinto[1]
Date of birth (1993-06-04) 4 June 1993[1]
Place of birth Diekirch, Luxembourg
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Left back
Club information
Current team
 Sparta Rotterdam
Youth career
2004–2005 Young Boys Diekirch
2005–2007 Metz
2007–2012 Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2012–2015 Sporting CP B 85 (1)
2015 Recreativo 15 (0)
2016 Sporting CP B 5 (0)
2016–2018 Belenenses 6 (0)
2017 → União Madeira (loan) 12 (0)
2018–2019 Fortuna Sittard 49 (1)
2020– Sparta Rotterdam 8 (0)
National team‡
2010–2011 Portugal U18 9 (1)
2012–2013 Portugal U20 15 (1)
2020– Luxembourg 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 October 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2020

He spent the early part of his career in the Segunda Liga, mainly with Sporting CP B. He totalled 102 matches in the competition over five seasons, adding six appearances in the Primeira Liga for Belenenses. In January 2018, he signed with Dutch club Fortuna Sittard.

Pinto represented Portugal at youth level, before switching to Luxembourg in 2020.

Club career

Born in Diekirch, Luxembourg of Portuguese descent, Pinto joined Sporting CP's youth academy at the age of 14.[2] He spent three full seasons with the reserve team in the Segunda Liga, making his debut in the competition on 11 August 2012 in a 0–1 away loss against U.D. Oliveirense[3] and scoring his first goal on 24 February 2013 to help the hosts defeat S.C. Freamunde 5–1.[4]

On 15 August 2015, Pinto was loaned to Spanish Segunda División B club Recreativo de Huelva alongside his teammates Kikas and Luís Ribeiro, with an option to buy.[5] The following January, he terminated his contract alleging unpaid wages.[6]

Pinto signed a permanent deal with C.F. Os Belenenses on 27 May 2016, with Sporting retaining 50% of his rights.[7] He played his first match in the Primeira Liga on 19 August, coming on as a last-minute substitute in the 0–0 home loss to Boavista FC;[8] ahead of the 2017–18 campaign, he was loaned to C.F. União of the second tier.[9]

In the January 2018 transfer window, Pinto agreed to a two-and-a-half-year contract at Fortuna Sittard of the Dutch Eerste Divisie.[10] He contributed one goal[11] from 14 appearances until the end of the season, as his side returned to the Eredivisie after a 16-year absence.[12]

Pinto made his debut in the Dutch top flight on 11 August 2018, playing the entire 1–1 away draw against SBV Excelsior.[13] On 30 December 2019, Sparta Rotterdam announced that he would be joining the club the following month, and he eventually signed a contract until June 2021 with the option of one more year.[14]

International career

Also eligible to represent Luxembourg,[2] Pinto appeared for Portugal at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Turkey.[15] He started all four games during the tournament, which ended in round-of-16 exit.[16]

Pinto made his full debut for Luxembourg in a friendly match against Liechtenstein on 7 October 2020.[17]

References
  1. "Mica Pinto" (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  2. "Mica Pinto pode vir a representar o Luxemburgo" [Mica Pinto may represent Luxembourg] (in Portuguese). Bom Dia. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  3. "Oliveirense-Sporting B, 1–0: Golo de Barry derrota jovens leões" [Oliveirense-Sporting B, 1–0: Barry goal defeats young lions]. Record (in Portuguese). 11 August 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  4. "Sporting B-Freamunde, 5–1: Leões regressam aos triunfos" [Sporting B-Freamunde, 5–1: Lions return to wins]. Record (in Portuguese). 24 February 2013. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  5. Galván, José Carlos (15 August 2015). "El Sporting luso también cede al lateral zurdo Mica Pinto" [Portugal's Sporting also loan left back Mica Pinto] (in Spanish). Huelva Hoy. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  6. "'Mica' Pinto se marcha del Recreativo tras tres meses sin cobrar" ['Mica' Pinto leaves Recreativo after three months without getting paid] (in Spanish). Be Soccer. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  7. Miroto Simões, Luís (27 May 2016). "Mica Pinto reforça o Belenenses" [Mica Pinto bolsters Belenenses]. Record (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  8. "Belenenses 0–0 Boavista" (in Portuguese). SAPO. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  9. "Belenenses: Mica Pinto emprestado ao União da Madeira" [Belenenses: Mica Pinto loaned to União da Madeira] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  10. "Portugese jeugdinternational verkast naar Fortuna" [Portuguese youth international switches to Fortuna] (in Dutch). 1Limburg. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  11. "Fortuna Sittard stap dichter bij Eredivisie" [Fortuna Sittard move closer to Eredivisie]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 2 April 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  12. "FC Emmen, De Graafschap en Fortuna Sittard in de Eredivisie" [FC Emmen, De Graafschap and Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie]. Sittard-Geleen Nieuws (in Dutch). 14 August 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  13. Niemandsverdriet, Tim (11 August 2018). "Smeets en VAR helpen Fortuna aan puntje bij rentree" [Smeets and VAR help Fortuna in their return]. Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  14. "Mica Pinto tekent contract tot medio 2021 bij Sparta" [Mica Pinto signs contract at Sparta until 2021] (in Dutch). Sparta Rotterdam. 30 December 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  15. Roseiro, Bruno (20 May 2017). "Portugal no Mundial Sub-20: quem, quando e onde? Um guia para a competição" [Portugal at the Under-20 World Cup: who, when and where? A guide for the competition]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  16. Nunes, Luís Miguel (3 July 2013). "Portugal fora do Mundial sub-20" [Portugal out of the under-20 World Cup] (in Portuguese). Relvado. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  17. "Le Luxembourg surpris à domicile" [Luxembourg surprised at home]. Luxemburger Wort (in French). 8 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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