Zach Lowy speaks to former Brazilian international Carlos Alberto, who was also known as Pintinho, about his love of Dutch football.
- By Zach Lowy
- Follow Zach on X
Today, Dutch football is considered to be in the secondary scale of world football. The Eredivisie sits behind the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 in the UEFA coefficients, and whilst there are high expectations for the Netherlands ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it’s clear that they’re behind the likes of Spain, Argentina, England, France, and Portugal in the upcoming tournament in North America. However, five decades ago, the Netherlands was at the zenith of the global game.
After losing to Milan in the 1969 European Cup (now UEFA Champions League) Final, Ajax saw their archrivals Feyenoord win the continent’s ultimate prize after beating Celtic in 1970, but they would bounce back in style with three consecutive cups. Over on the international level, the Oranje would lose in the 1974 and 1978 World Cup Final, as well as taking home the bronze medal in their maiden trip to the Euros in 1976. It’s why, despite growing up in the most successful footballing country on the planet, Carlos Alberto Pintinho took a liking to the Dutch game. This, combined with his elegant playing style to a number of Netherlands players and similar physical features, would see his teammates bequeath him the nickname of ‘O Holandês do Borel,” or the Dutchman of Borel.
Born on June 15, 1954, Pintinho was raised by his grandparents in the favela of Morro do Borel, enrolling in private school thanks to his grandfather’s work at the Souza Cruz cigarette factory, and attending Botafogo training sessions. Similarly to the likes of Danny Higginbotham and Thomas Grønnemark, Pintinho had his mind set on becoming a professional footballer from an early age, going from barefoot ‘pelada’ sessions on the streets and dirt fields to the futsal team of his grandfather’s factory team to 11-a-side football and futsal with América, before eventually returning to pelada after América closed its academy. He then returned to 11-a-side after joining Fluminense’s academy, moving away from his family at the age of 12 and living in the upscale neighborhood of Urca. His sacrifice wasn’t in vain, with Pintinho making his first-team debut at 17 years old and impressing both in Brazil and on the international stage.
“I’m very proud of myself for my time at Fluminense – it was very beautiful. I was playing in the Brasileirinho league in 1969/70, and I was able to win it. By 1972, I was playing for Fluminense’s youth teams when the Brazilian youth national team called me up for the Tournoi Juniors U-18 de Cannes, where I had the privilege of playing alongside my midfield partner Paulo Roberto Falcão and won back-to-back titles in 1972 and 1973,” stated Pintinho in an exclusive Football-Oranje interview. “I remember back in the day, the Brazil coach didn’t know what to do, because we played in the same position, and he said: ‘Look, I’m going to put the two of you together. If I organize it well, we’ll win the championship. That year, I played in the Summer Olympics in Munich, which was very beautiful, and I played in midfield alongside my club and international teammate Kléber.”
“My best friend Geraldo played for Flamengo, and I wanted to play with both of them, but they both played in the same position. I remained as a starter, but I had to compete with both of them…they caused me a lot of problems, but in the end, everything turned out fine. When we came back from Cannes with the title, there was a conflict within the first squad of Fluminense, and the coach Davi ‘Duque’ Ferreira put me in the first team. I arrived a week later and immediately started playing; I’m very grateful to Duque for giving me the chance to play for Fluminense. That’s where it all started: I started playing, and I never looked back. Things weren’t that difficult, but I also had to put in the work, it wasn’t handed to me, which made a difference. It all happened very quickly for me because a lot of people liked the way I played, and so things just fell into place.”
Pintinho established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the Brasileirão, going up against world-class players like Pelé and holding his own thanks to his tough tackling and cultured passing technique. This earned the attention of the Brazil national team, with Pintinho making three appearances between 1977 and 1979. Pintinho established himself as a club legend in the ‘Máquina Tricolor,’ scoring 23 goals in 381 appearances and winning nine trophies, before making the move to Vasco da Gama. He spent just a couple of months at Vasco before deciding to leave Rio de Janeiro for the first time and start a new adventure in Europe; whilst he managed to play in Spain and Portugal, he was never able to fulfill his ambitions of playing in the Eredivisie.
“I was set to play in the 1978 World Cup only to be left out at the last minute due to ‘disciplinary reasons.’ I tried to boycott the 1979 Copa América, but the Brazilian football authorities forced me to play, so I had my third appearance vs. Paraguay and then ended my time with the national team. I left Fluminense the following year, spending a few months at Vasco da Gama, before heading to Spain in 1980. I wanted to live in the Netherlands, I was in love with the style of play of the Netherlands and Johan Cruyff. I had a deep love of Dutch football, which is why they called me the Dutchman of Borel in Brazil. I always liked Dutch football and wanted to come to the Netherlands, but then I went to Vasco and played three summer tournaments in Spain. I played the Joan Gamper Trophy in Barcelona, the Naranja Trophy in Valencia, and Troféu Colombino in Huelva, which I won in the Basque Country. I had been under their radar for the past year, but after 10 months at Vasco, I went to Sevilla, where I’ve remained up until this day. I did have a little bit of time at Fluminense, but I don’t count it.”
After an impressive spell at Sevilla which saw him transform from a midfield anchor to a #10 and score 25 goals in 102 appearances, Pintinho headed back to Fluminense for six months before returning to Andalusia and joining Cádiz, followed by a swan song at Farense – on both occasions, he’d drive back to Sevilla on the weekend. Since hanging up his boots in 1987, Pintinho has spent the near-entirety of his time in Sevilla, apart from a brief spell coaching a team from Murica, but he still makes time to head back to Brazil twice a year and see his family. Similarly to others like Glenn Davis, Pintinho went from playing football to coaching youth football, opening his own footballing school in Sevilla as well as opening his own clothing store, before retiring in 2020. At 71 years of age, Pintinho has solidified his status as an icon in Rio de Janeiro and Sevilla, but he’ll always wonder what could have been with regards to his ambitions of playing in the Netherlands.
Follow
Follow @Footballoranje_ on Twitter
