Tiago Miguel Baía Pinto (born 1 February 1988) is a Portuguese former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. Previously of

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

, he did not break into the first teams of either club, but did so at Rio Ave, helping them to two domestic cup finals in 2014. He also played several seasons in Turkey's

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

, making over 100 appearances for Osmanlıspor and Ankaragücü. Pinto was a youth international for Portugal.

Club career

Early years

Pinto was born in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. After receiving his first football lessons at S.L. Benfica, both he and his father joined neighbouring

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, and the 12-year-old went on to complete his development at the Estádio José Alvalade. For 2007–08, Pinto was loaned to C.D. Olivais e Moscavide of the third division, and spent the following campaign with

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

newcomers C.D. Trofense. On 18 April 2009 he scored his first goal in the competition, as consolation in a 2–1 away defeat against Rio Ave FC. In September 2009, after cutting ties with Sporting, Pinto signed a four-year contract with S.C. Braga. In his only season, he made no competitive appearances as the

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

side finished in second position.

Rio Ave

Pinto was released in summer 2010, and joined fellow top-flight club Rio Ave. He arrived to replace Braga-bound Sílvio, and had previously failed a medical at Vitória de Setúbal. On 3 September 2012, Pinto was loaned to Spanish side

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

for one year, without the option to purchase. He was presented before 200 fans at the Estadio Riazor and joined several compatriots at his new team, making his official debut on 1 November by playing the entirety of a 1–1 home draw with

RCD Mallorca Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (, , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or RCD Mallorca, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Palma de Mallorca, ...

in the last-32 stage of the

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

and also featuring three minutes in place of Juan Domínguez in the goalless second leg four weeks later, with the subsequent elimination on the

away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...

; between those two cup matches he appeared in his only game for them in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, starting and finishing the 5–3 loss at

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

. On 11 January 2013, as he was only third choice at his position behind Ayoze and Evaldo, Pinto's loan at Deportivo ended and he moved to

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

's Racing de Santander for the remainder of the campaign. His only goal for the

Cantabria Cantabria (, ; ) is an autonomous community and Provinces of Spain, province in northern Spain with Santander, Cantabria, Santander as its capital city. It is called a , a Nationalities and regions of Spain, historic community, in its current ...

ns arrived on 23 February, concluding a 2–0 home victory over CD Mirandés, but the club eventually suffered a second consecutive relegation. Pinto was an unused substitute as Rio Ave lost the finals of the Taça da Liga and the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

in 2014 to Benfica. He played against the same team in that year's

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

, missing in the

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

to hand the opposition the title.

Turkey

In July 2015, Pinto signed for Osmanlıspor, newly promoted to Turkey's

. In his first season in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, the side came fifth and qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

. He scored his first goal on 28 July 2016, the only one of a home win against Nõmme Kalju FC in the competition's third qualifying round, and in the play-off on 25 August he netted both of a defeat of

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

also at the Osmanlı Stadium. Pinto moved on a three-year contract to another promoted team in the Turkish capital in July 2018,

MKE Ankaragücü MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the ...

. In his second match on 19 August, he concluded a 2–0 win at

Alanyaspor Alanyaspor Kulübü, known as Corendon Alanyaspor due to sponsorship reasons, is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Alanya in Antalya Province. Formed in 1948, the club colours are orange and green. Home matches are play ...

International career

Pinto won 25 caps for Portugal at youth level, including two for the under-21s. He was called up to the full side for the first time on 31 March 2015 for a friendly with

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

, remaining on the bench in the 0–2 defeat in

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the civil parish of Cascais e Estoril of the Portuguese Municipality of Cascais, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a popular tourist destination, with hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numero ...

Personal life

Pinto is the son of João Pinto, whom successfully represented Benfica, Sporting and the Portugal national team. In June 2009, he married Bárbara Brilhante at the Jerónimos Monastery in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, and the couple have a son and a daughter together. Pinto's uncle, Sérgio, competed mostly in the Portuguese lower divisions, also spending a season at England's Bradford City.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Tiago 1988 births Living people 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Porto Men's association football fullbacks Primeira Liga players Segunda Divisão players Sporting CP footballers C.D. Olivais e Moscavide players C.D. Trofense players S.C. Braga players Rio Ave F.C. players La Liga players Segunda División players Deportivo de La Coruña players Racing de Santander players Süper Lig players TFF 1. Lig players Ankaraspor footballers MKE Ankaragücü footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey