A BOLA – Leça coach, Luís Pinto, raises the bar (Campeonato Portugal)
One of the sensation teams of the 2021/22 season lives in the North of Portugal. Leça is the leader of the C Series of the Portuguese Championship – with the best attack and the best defense – and in the Portuguese Cup it has already been knocked over twice, by eliminating Arouca and Gil Vicente.
At just 32 years old, Luís Pinto is the head coach of the Leceiros and, naturally, an accomplished man so far.
“We are a group that is proud of what we have achieved. The 1st place, the best attack and the best defense) are the result of our ambition. We have a very strong focus on evolution and development, whether individual or collective. We work hard to be the best prepared to win the next game”, he pointed out.
Within days, the Portuguese Cup returns and Leça is one of the teams present in the round of 16.
«We have had a beautiful journey. We have already received the opportunity to face and eliminate three teams from the upper divisions, two of them from the League, Arouca and Gil Vicente. In the four qualifiers, we scored seven goals and conceded just one. It is a very good record and I hope that this journey does not end here and that it will continue to be a showcase for my players, who deserve it well”, pointed out Luís Pinto.
The young coach lives happy days, but it wasn’t always like that, as he himself remembers:
«With two and a half weeks of the start of the championship, we had 14 players. There was a huge impasse and there was a 50% budget reduction compared to the previous season. The continuity of the club was being considered…. We went to fight with patience and discretion. We needed men with values and great character to take up this challenge. The work carried out is to be praised, a way in which the entire group is dedicated and has dignified the name of Leça. »
Despite being only 32 years old, the coach is already in his 10th season on the bench. A journey that started very early, the result of a huge passion for football.
«The first steps were taken in the formation of Boavista, having also gone through the formation of Gondomar, Salgueiros and the strength of the dragon. At a time when he was coaching Salgueiros’ U-15s, Porfírio Amorim was invited to join Trofense’s technical team as his assistant / physical trainer. There followed three seasons at Trofa and three at Leiria, where we had our first experience as head coach. Then I went through Mirandela, Felgueiras, Real and now Leça », I concluded.