Quick Facts
Biography
Miguel Ángel Pinto Jerez (born July 4, 1983) is a Chilean football goalkeeper who plays for Chilean club O'Higgins. He also holds Mexican citizenship.
Club career
Universidad de Chile
Pinto was born in Santiago, Chile, and was thrust into action in 2002 against Universidad de Chile's biggest rival, Colo-Colo, when the team's first string goalkeeper was injured and the second string goalkeeper was ejected in the same game. In his first action against Colo-Colo he would hold them scoreless, which would foreshadow his future success against the same team. Pinto would be the team's second team goalkeeper for the 2003, 2004 and 2005 season behind Johnny Herrera. Herrera was transferred to Corinthians in 2006 pushing Pinto to become the team's first-choice goalkeeper a position he has held for three years. In 2006 Pinto drew some criticism for his low level of performance. However, in 2007 Pinto was named the best player of the year for Universidad de Chile. After a successful 2008 season, Universidad de Chile qualified for the preliminary round of the Copa Libertadores 2009, which would lead to Pinto's first participation in international club football. Universidad de Chile would go on to defeat Pachuca in the preliminary round with Pinto turning in good performances in both games of the two-legged playoff. In the group stage, Pinto would have an incredible performance against Gremio in Porto Alegre making numerous saves in order to maintain a scoreless draw. In the game Pinto received 25 shots from the Brazilian side. Pinto would go on to play in 10 games during the tournament allowing 11 goals, which has led to rumors that Pinto will be making a move to a Mexican club Cruz Azul in mid-2009 for a reported $1.2 million. Pinto won his first title with Universidad de Chile at the end of the Apertura Tournament 2009. In December 2010 after being eliminated of the "Liguilla" for Copa Libertadores 2011 the president of Universidad de Chile Federico Valdés confirmed the transfer of the player to the Mexican club Atlas, in where he will play on loan from La U.
All-time club statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | America | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Universidad de Chile | Apertura 2002 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||
| Clausura 2002 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 6 | 0 | |||
| Apertura 2003 | 2 | 0 | – | - | 2 | 0 | |||
| Clausura 2003 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Apertura 2004 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Clausura 2004 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Apertura 2005 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Clausura 2005 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Apertura 2006 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Clausura 2006 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Apertura 2007 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Clausura 2007 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Apertura 2008 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | |
| Clausura 2008 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Apertura 2009 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| Clausura 2009 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Apertura 2010 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 29 | 0 | |
| Career totals Universidad de Chile | 218 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 232 | 0 | |
- America = Sudamericana y Libertadores
International career
Pinto represented Chile in the South American Youth Championship of 2003, which is a Sub-20 tournament. In 2006 Pinto made appearances for the adult side against Côte d'Ivoire and Ireland. Former Chile national coach Nelson Acosta named Pinto as the third goalkeeper for the Copa America 2007 tournament. However Pinto refused to be the third goalkeeper and did not make the trip to Venezuela. In 2007, Argentine coach Marcelo Bielsa took over the Chilean national team and he regularly names Pinto as the second goalkeeper behind Claudio Bravo. In May 2009, Pinto along with Chile participated in the Kirin Cup and in two games Pinto allowed five goals.
Personal life
Pinto designs his own goalkeeper jersey, such as former goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert. Pinto regularly incorporates a lion or owl into his designs, which are the mascots of Universidad de Chile. Pinto has a twin brother named Juan Francisco. Pinto is also known by his nicknames, Miguelito and Criptonita (kryptonite).
Honors
Club
- Universidad de Chile
- Chilean League: Apertura: 2009
Individual
- America best goalkeeper: 2009
- Copa Nissan Sudamericana best goalkeeper: 2009
- Goalkeeper of the "Americas ideal team": 2009