About João Pinto
João Manuel Vieira Pinto (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w ˈpĩtu, ˈʒwɐ̃w -]; born 19 August 1971) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played mostly as a forward. Blessed with playmaking and goalscoring ability, he made his name mostly at a domestic level and as a key figure in the Portuguese national team's "Golden Generation", collecting 151 caps and scoring 45 goals across all levels (81/23 for the senior team alone) and representing the country at the 2002 World Cup and two European Championships. At the club level, Pinto started his career with Boavista, but it was mainly associated with two of the biggest clubs in the country, Benfica and Sporting CP, with which he won one Primeira Liga each for a total of six major titles. Over 19 top-division seasons, he played 476 matches and netted 117 goals. Pinto's performance in the first youth competition earned him a transfer to Atlético Madrid in 1990, but he was placed instead with the reserve team. Dubbed "The Golden Boy", Pinto won captaincy from veteran António Veloso after the latter's retirement in 1995, but was unable to win a national title again. Although a highly talented player, Pinto was also known for a series of red cards for aggression and bad tackles. After a forgettable season he rejoined Boavista, appeared in every match, scored eight goals and won the Taça de Portugal, in a final against city rivals FC Porto.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.