Antonio Pinilla

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Antonio Pinilla
Toni pinilla.jpg
Personal information
Full name Antonio Pinilla Miranda [1]
Date of birth (1971-02-25) 25 February 1971 (age 54) [1]
Place of birth Badalona, Spain [1]
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Position Forward
Youth career
Sant Gabriel
1986–1988 Barcelona
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1988 Barcelona C 1 (1)
1988–1991 Barcelona B 90 (34)
1990–1993 Barcelona 8 (1)
1991–1992 → Mallorca (loan) 21 (4)
1992–1993 → Albacete (loan) 36 (8)
1993–2000 Tenerife 184 (30)
2000–2001 Salamanca 34 (4)
2001–2008 Gimnàstic 196 (33)
Total570(115)
International career
1987 Spain U16 5 (5)
1987 Spain U17 1 (0)
1987–1988 Spain U18 8 (2)
1988–1989 Spain U19 3 (0)
1989–1990 Spain U20 5 (2)
1990–1991 Spain U21 5 (1)
1991–1992 Spain U23 8 (1)
Medal record
Representing Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Men's Football
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1992 Barcelona Team Competition
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Antonio Pinilla Miranda (born 25 February 1971) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played mainly as a forward.

Contents

Best known for his stints at Tenerife and Gimnàstic – he began playing with Barcelona, but had virtually no impact for its first team – he also served as general manager at the latter club, appearing in 511 official matches for seven teams in two decades, 242 of those in La Liga over 11 seasons (40 goals scored). [2]

Club career

Barcelona

Born in Badalona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Pinilla was brought up at FC Barcelona. During the 1989–90 season, a week before turning 19, Johan Cruyff handed him his La Liga debut on 18 February 1990 in a match against Rayo Vallecano; he featured 25 minutes in the 4–1 away win, having come on as a substitute for Julio Salinas. [3]

The following campaign, Barcelona won the league and Pinilla appeared in seven matches, scoring an important goal against Valencia CF. [2] He also played in the final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, subbing in for veteran José Ramón Alexanko in a 2–1 loss to Manchester United. [4]

However, strong competition in the emerging Dream Team meant Pinilla had to leave Barça on loan, and he joined RCD Mallorca, in a season that ended in top-division relegation. For 1992–93, he signed with top-flight newcomers Albacete Balompié, [5] only missing two games and scoring eight goals as the Castilla–La Mancha club retained its league status. [6]

Tenerife and Gimnàstic

Pinilla was finally released in the summer of 1993, signing for CD Tenerife where he remained seven seasons, helping the Canary Islands team to reach the semi-finals of the 1996–97 UEFA Cup; [7] [8] he previously entered the club's history books when scoring its first goal ever in European competition, against AJ Auxerre on 15 September 1993. [9] 1998–99 brought with it relegation, and the player followed the side into Segunda División. [10]

After one season with UD Salamanca, also in the second tier, Pinilla joined Gimnàstic de Tarragona, recently promoted to that league. [11] His seven goals, however, proved insufficient to prevent them from being immediately relegated; in addition, a serious knee injury in the final months of the campaign forced him into the operating room which led two a six-month period of inactivity, in turn prompting his release. [12]

Having returned to fitness on his own, Pinilla rejoined Gimnàstic in the 2003 winter transfer window. Although he barely managed to make the squad while they were in the Segunda División B, he became an important unit in their return to division two, adding five goals in the last ten days of 2005–06 [13] [14] [15] in an historic return to the top flight. [16]

Pinilla served as captain during Gimnàstic's short-lived spell in the main division, netting twice from 28 appearances for the last-ranked team, [17] against RCD Espanyol (4–0 at home) [18] and at Athletic Bilbao (2–0). [19] On 11 September 2007, the club was crowned champion of the Catalonia Cup for the first time after a 2–1 defeat of Barcelona, with him equalising the score. [20]

At the end of the 2007–08 season, after helping Nàstic retain their second-tier status, Pinilla announced his retirement having totalled 221 competitive games with the club, [21] [22] immediately being named its general manager [23] and leaving the post in early February 2010. [24] [25]

International career

Pinilla never earned one full cap for Spain, but did represent the nation at various youth levels. [10] Additionally, he was a member of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics, appearing in two of six games. [26]

Pinilla also played seven matches with the unofficial Catalonia national team.

Honours

Barcelona

Gimnàstic

Spain U23

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Antonio Pinilla at WorldFootball.net
  2. 1 2 "Jugadors amb Història | Antoni Pinilla Miranda "Pinilla"" [Players with History | Antoni Pinilla Miranda "Pinilla"] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  3. ↑ Guasch, Tomás (19 February 1990). "Pinilla: debut feliz" [Pinilla: happy debut](PDF). Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  4. 1 2 "Barcelona and United seek fresh Wembley glory". UEFA. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. ↑ Martínez, Alberto (17 February 2007). "Pinilla, 17 años después de debutar en Primera" [Pinilla, 17 years since he made his debut in Primera]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  6. ↑ "Los equipos de la Liga. Albacete Balompié" [The League's teams. Albacete Balompié] (in Spanish). Cuadernos de Fútbol. February 2019. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  7. ↑ Rincón, Jaime (18 February 2014). "El día que el 'EuroTete' goleó a la Lazio" [The day 'EuroTete' routed Lazio]. Marca (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  8. ↑ Perera, Juanma (18 January 2017). "¿Qué fue del CD Tenerife semifinalista de la UEFA?" [What happened to UEFA semi-finalists CD Tenerife?] (in Spanish). Sphera Sports. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  9. ↑ Pinazo, Fernando (15 September 2023). "Treinta años desde que el Tenerife se presentó ante Europa" [Thirtieth anniversary of Tenerife's presentation to Europe]. Atlántico Hoy (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  10. 1 2 Casado, Edu (29 July 2012). "Qué fue de... Antonio Pinilla" [What happened to... Antonio Pinilla]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  11. ↑ "Breves Segunda División" [Segunda División shorts]. Diario AS (in Spanish). 22 July 2001. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  12. ↑ "Pinilla: "En Tenerife viví cosas grandes, pero el Nástic me ha marcado más"" [Pinilla: "In Tenerife i experienced great things, but Nàstic touched me more"]. Marca (in Spanish). 4 June 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  13. ↑ "El Recreativo y el Nástic se afianzan en el ascenso" [Recreativo and Nástic stronger in promotion]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 30 April 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  14. ↑ "El Nàstic guanya el primer "match ball"" [Nàstic win the first "match ball"] (in Catalan). Tarragona Ràdio. 15 May 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  15. ↑ Roca, J. (22 May 2006). "Pinilla pone con dos goles la directa hacia la Primera" [Pinilla clears path to Primera with two goals]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  16. ↑ "El Nástic retorna a la Primera División después de 56 años" [Nástic return to Primera División 56 years later]. El Periódico de Aragón (in Spanish). 4 June 2006. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  17. ↑ Santos, Jorge; Zea, Antonio; Martínez, Ángel David; Dalence, Daniel. "Spain 2006/07". RSSSF . Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  18. ↑ "El Nástic se da una alegría a costa del vecino" [Nástic enjoy themselves at their neighbours' expense]. El Mundo (in Spanish). 28 January 2007. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  19. ↑ Rodrigálvarez, Eduardo (5 March 2007). "Malos vientos en San Mamés" [Winds of doom at San Mamés]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  20. 1 2 Ortiz, Fabián (12 September 2007). "Pinilla y Maldonado dan al Nàstic la primera Copa" [Pinilla and Maldonado give the first Cup to Nàstic]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  21. ↑ "Pinilla anuncia su retirada" [Pinilla announces retirement]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 13 June 2008. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
  22. ↑ "Homenatge als jugadors bicentenaris de la història grana" [Tribute to the bicentennial players of maroon history] (in Catalan). Gimnàstic Tarragona. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  23. ↑ "Antonio Pinilla, nuevo director general del Nastic" [Antonio Pinilla, new Nastic general manager]. Marca (in Spanish). 17 June 2008. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  24. ↑ Rodríguez, Xavi (19 December 2009). "Pinilla medita marcharse del Nàstic cuanto antes" [Pinilla considers leaving Nàstic as soon as possible]. Sport (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  25. ↑ Solé, X. (4 February 2010). "Un quart de vida «en clau Nàstic»" [A quarter of a lifetime "in the key of Nàstic"]. El Punt (in Catalan). Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  26. ↑ "La Roja de 1992, nuestra medalla de oro Olímpica" [1992's La Roja, our Olympic gold medal] (in Spanish). Antena 3. 3 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  27. ↑ Tejedor Carnicero, José Vicente. "Spain, Final Tables 1989–1999". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  28. ↑ Tejedor Carnicero, José Vicente; Di Maggio, Roberto; Torre, Raúl; Lozano Ferrer, Carles. "Spain – List of Super Cup Finals". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  29. ↑ Morenilla, Juan (25 February 2007). "Supervivientes de oro" [Golden survivors]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2018.
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