It will be a special match for José Manuel Pinto on Saturday. The Barça keeper is going back to the Balaídos to face Celta Vigo, for whom he made 121 appearances over ten seasons.
From Zamora to relegation
His best season in Vigo was 2005/06, when he was awarded the Zamora Trophy for conceding the fewest goals. He was a key element in a team that produced one of the most successful campaigns in the club’s recent history, finishing in sixth place in the first division.
The following season, however, Celta dropped back down to the second division and Pinto suffered at the hands of the Barça forward line. In the match in the Balaídos, Eto’o, Messi and Gudjohnsen all scored in Barça’s 2-3 win while in the Camp Nou Celta fared no better, losing 3-1.
The Celta-Barça connection
One of José Manuel Pinto’s team-mates at Celta was French goalkeeper Richard Dutruel, who also ended up signing for Barça. The two keepers shared the number one jersey at Celta for several season until the Frenchman moved to the Camp Nou, where he played from 2000 to 2002.
