Managing career
Pinto managed several teams in Colombia, including Santa Fe and Unión Magdalena on two occasions, before joining Club Alianza Lima (Peru) in 1997. The team was able to win the 1997 Torneo Descentralizado, after an 18-year drought. Afterwards, he left the club and returned to Colombia.
After an unsuccessful attempt at coaching Costa Rica in 2004–2005, Pinto returned to Colombia to coach Cúcuta Deportivo, leading them to their first Colombian league title.
Pinto was named as the new coach of the Colombia national team in December 2006. [1] His tenure began positively, as Colombia enjoyed a strong start in the World Cup qualifiers, earning 10 out of 16 possible points—including a memorable 2-1 victory over Argentina. However, he faced criticism after poor results in the 2007 Copa América, where Colombia suffered a heavy 5-0 loss to Paraguay. [2] After a 1-0 loss to Uruguay at home and a 4-0 away loss to Chile, and with the team sixth in the table, Pinto was sacked by the FCF in September 2008. [1]
In 2011, he became manager of Costa Rica again, and on 10 September 2013 qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. Costa Rica ended in second place in 2014 World Cup qualification. He was voted as CONCACAF's best coach of 2014 after the World Cup, beating United States head coach Jürgen Klinsmann.
In the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Pinto secured a 3–1 victory for Costa Rica over Uruguay and another 1–0 victory over Italy. After a 0–0 draw against England, Costa Rica finished first in what many called the "Group of Death", the second time Costa Rica made it to the World Cup Round of 16. On 29 June 2014, Costa Rica defeated Greece on penalties and went through to the quarter finals of the 2014 World Cup. His team eventually lost on penalties to the Netherlands after a goalless draw.
In December 2014, he became manager of the Honduras. [3] Pinto took his team into the two leg intercontinental playoff against Australia for a place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. However, Honduras lost to Australia 3–1 on aggregate over the two legs and Pinto later stepped down as Honduras coach.
In July 2018, he was on a 4-man shortlist for the vacant Egyptian national team manager job. [4] In November 2018, he returned to Colombia to coach Millonarios, [5] until October 2019. [6]
In summer 2020, he became the head coach of the United Arab Emirates national team. [7] On 30 November 2020, Pinto's contract was terminated due to disappointing results with the national team. [8]
On 1 October 2022, he returned to Deportivo Cali for a second spell as manager, having previously been at the helm of the Colombian club from 1990 to 1991. [9] Pinto managed Deportivo Cali for nine months, resigning on 8 July 2023. [10]
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