Carlos Alberto Pintinho interview: How Brazil came to call Seville home

From Marcao to Alex Telles, from Fernando to Diego Carlos, a total of 22 Brazilian players have represented Sevilla, Canario being the first after arriving from Real Madrid in 1962, followed by Duda’s arrival in 1975 with Vitoria Setubal. While Sevilla’s two Brazilian signings came from Iberian clubs, the third – Carlos Alberto Pintinho – came directly from Brazil.

Born on June 15, 1954, Pintinho was raised in the favela of Morro do Borel but was able to avoid economic hardship due to his grandfather’s job in the Souza Cruz tobacco factory and attended a private school. Like many other children in the region of Rio de Janeiro, Pintinho began his career in the streets or on the beaches in the ‘pelada’ games before graduating to futsal in the Souza Cruz futsal team, where he beat the top sides of the region and eventually received an invitation from America to start his football career, but he returned to the academy. Pintinho then joined Fluminense’s academy at the age of 12, moving away from his family and living in the luxury suburb of Urca to better balance his pursuit of football and his studies.

“After the disappearance of the American academy, I had to play for a new team, and I really wanted to play football. Two of my futsal friends took me to the court at Fluminense. They signed me up after my first trial, and that’s when everything started when I was 12 years old,” said Pintinho in an exclusive interview with Football España. “Fluminense was in Laranjeiras, and the accommodation was 20 minutes away in Urca, they wanted me to have peace of mind. They paid for my studies and training, and they convinced my grandmother – I lived with my grandparents – that it was better to be close to Fluminense.”

“They reached an agreement, and from that moment, I went to live there, which was the best stage of my life. I grew up in a favela near the Maracana, but I didn’t have any problems, my friendship was very good. My whole family was from the favela, but I went to a private school and I started playing football early in the morning and then I went to a very cool place called Urcaminense for 2 years using the Frency of Flancy where I live on Monday. Saturday in Urca, then when we play in Laranjeiras, I go home on Sunday, but whenever we play away, we stay at the Fluminense school.”

Ultimately, this sacrifice paid off, with Pintinho making his Fluminense first-team debut at the age of 17 in 1972 and leading Brazil to victory over Argentina at the Tournoi Juniors U-18 de Cannes in France, Pintinho went on to Munich and competed again at the Summer Olympics, finishing bottom of the team. Similar to Thomas Grønnemarkor Blaise Matuidi, Pintinho stood out for his impressive physicality and ferocious marking, combining a tough tackling style with limited passing. That is why, apart from challenging captain Denilson for the starting spot, Pintinho would be a key piece in midfield, leading them to victory in the 1973 and 1975 Campeonato Carioca and the 1973 Torneio Internacional de Vero do Rio de Janeiro.

Pintinho emerged as one of the best midfielders in Brasileirao and held his own against some of the best players of his generation, including one of the greatest players to ever step onto a football field: Pele. But although he emerged as a legend of the Fluminense team, he failed to make a mark in Brazil. After narrowly missing out on World Cup selection the previous year, Pintinho tried to boycott the 1979 Copa America but was forced to attend, making his third and final appearance in their final in Paraguay.

After scoring 23 goals and nine trophies in 381 games for Fluminense, Pintinho decided to move to Vasco da Gama, where he stayed for a few months before he decided to leave his hometown to start a new life in Seville in 1980. Fast forward almost 46 years, and he’s still not gone. Pintinho went from a solid number 5 in Brazil to a capable number 10 in Spain, scoring 25 goals in 102 games before leaving in 1984 for fellow Andalusian club Cadiz. After a brief return home to Fluminense, he had a final swan song at Portuguese side Farense. But despite playing for Cadiz and Farense, Pintinho remained linked with Sevilla, returning home to ‘The Bride of the Guadalquivir’ at the weekend.

“I moved from Rio de Janeiro to Sevilla in 1980, and my home has been there ever since – I don’t count my brief return to Fluminense. I just spent the summer at the beach, so I decided to spend a year in Cadiz, but my home is in Sevilla; I knew very well that when I finished playing football I would live in Seville.”

“Then I got a chance through a former Sevilla teammate who asked me if I would like to play for Farense, and that’s where I finished my career. I played there for a year before hanging up my boots at the age of 32.

Since he retired from football in 1987, Pintinho has taken on many different positions off the field. Just like Glenn Davis or Ernesto Valverde, Pintinho went from playing to coaching, getting his coaching licenses and directing the Murcia team, only to grow homesick and return to Sevilla, where he opened a football school for young children in the region. He balanced youth coaching with running his own sportswear store before retiring in 2020.

“I remember the former player of Fluminense Carlos Alberto Torres, the captain of the campaign that won the Brazilian World Cup of 1970, who founded a training school for children, then I got the idea when I arrived in Sevilla – why not start an academy? In fact, it was one of the best things I have had in a long time in football, because I trained many children in one week of football. On Saturdays and Sundays, we played matches. I had people who helped me, but the school was mine and it was a great job. I’m proud of the way things turned out, and the truth is, I really enjoyed being a pioneer in the football schools in Sevilla, and many of the kids who were in the academy have become men, and now we have a very good relationship.”

Pintinho may no longer be able to play football after hip surgery, but even so he remains interested in the good game and follows Brasileirao, La Liga and other languages, talking regularly with his sons Pablo, who covers Sevilla for Diario de Sevilla, and Carlinhos, who lives in Madrid and is the youngest FIFA licensed lawyer in Spain. And this coming summer, he will have the chance to watch his country Brazil take on his country Spain for the most coveted trophy on Earth: the FIFA World Cup.

“My wife is from Las Palmas, although she doesn’t know much about football, she understands a little as her brother (Jose Diez Calleja) played as a right-back for Real Betis. Sometimes she goes with me to the game, sometimes not. As I have lived in Spain for 45 years, and I watch Brazil and Spain matches regularly, even if I was still playing with Brazil. OK – that would leave me alone!”