TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 05: Tatiana Pinto of Juventus Women poses for a portrait during the official UEFA Women’s Champions League 2025/26 portrait session at Juventus Training Center on September 05, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Sara Cavallini – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
UEFA via Getty Images
At the fifth time of asking, Portugal’s Tatiana Pinto finally gets the opportunity to play in the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Italian champions Juventus this week.
In four previous seasons, Pinto has participated in the qualifying stages of the competition – twice with Sporting, once with Levante and, last year, with Atlético – but on each occasion her team has failed to make it into the main draw.
Last season with Atlético, Pinto missed a penalty in the shoot-out as the Spanish team surprisingly went out in Qualifying Round 1 to Rosenborg after a match where they led for over an hour. She told me “I was very disappointed. Of course, I took responsibility for that penalty because I’m professional. I’m very demanding with myself.”
Rosenborg’s Rebecka Wanvik Holum celebrates scoring their side’s first goal of the game during the UEFA Women’s Champions League Qualifying First Round Semi-Final match at Meadow Park, Borehamwood. Picture date: Wednesday September 4, 2024. (Photo by Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images)
PA Images via Getty Images
“I also know, that’s football and everything can happen. So, if I failed, it happens. I am sure it was not, because I missed the peanlty, that we did not go through. I remember the game, we should have done better but we didn’t. This year, they will go again and I’m happy for them of course. I wish them a very lucky season – but not against Juventus!”
As reigning Serie A champions, Juventus went directly into the new 18-team League Phase of the competition. They have been drawn to face Pinto’s former club Atlético as well as the Portuguese champions SL Benfica in a tough opening set of games.
Pinto grew up as a die-hard supporter of Lisbon’s other big side Sporting CP, adding extra spice to the opening meeting with the team from her homeland. She admitted to me “in public, I am a Sporting fan but, look, I have a lot of friends – and good friends – in the Benfica team. It’s a bit unfair to say that I don’t like them.”
Tatiana Pinto protects the ball during the Womens Taa da Liga Final between Sporting CP and Sl Benfica FC at Estdio Magalhes Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal, 17, March, 2021 (Photo by João Rico/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
NurPhoto via Getty Images
To illustrate that, Pinto revealed she had exchanged jokes with Benfica’s Portuguese international Lúcia Alves about the encounter. “Honestly, I always support the Portuguese teams in international competitions. Always. I don’t care if it’s Sporting, Benfica, Braga, I don’t care. Of course, in this situation, I wish them luck but not against Juventus, because I want to win.”
Pinto was under contract at Atlético until 2026 but made the move to Turin this summer becoming the first Portuguese woman to play for the Italian club. “It was something very unexpected because I was very focused with Atlético. When this opportunity came, it was all very quick. I had to decide my future in a few days.”
“It was hard because I left a place where I felt happy and I felt home. But when Juventus calls you cannot say no. I’m really happy, the team, the club, the staff, the team-mates – they made me feel very welcome. I am really sure that I made the right decision.”
BIELLA, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 13: Tatiana Ferreira Pinto of Juventus Women celebrates goal with teammate Emma Stolen Godo of Juventus Women during the Serie A Women’s Cup match between Juventus and Napoli at Stadio Comunale Vittorio Pozzo Lamarmora on September 13, 2025 in Biella, Italy. (Photo by Chris Ricco – Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)
Juventus FC via Getty Images
Pinto has already won her first trophy in Italy, after Juventus won the first-ever edition of the pre-season Serie A Women’s Cup, a new 12-team mini-tournament. She scored twice in a 4-0 group stage match against Napoli. On Saturday, Pinto was one of several players rested as Juventus began their league campaign with a 0-0 draw away to Sassuolo.
After Juventus were eliminated in the group stage of the UEFA Women’s Champions League last season, their match tomorrow will be the first-ever in the new era of the competition’s League Phase, in which all 18 teams are ranked through a single table after six matches against random opposition.
Pinto is confident that the new “Swiss system” format is more balanced and offers greater hope to the Italian champions. “We know there are a few favorites because of the legacy they have. I think this format gives more opportunities for the teams to go through. If in the end, the same teams win, it means that they are very good, they deserve it. I think, it’s a very competitive scheme and I honestly like it.”
Aged 31, Pinto has no plans to wind down her career and believes a change in diet will instead help prolong it. “I have my own nutritionist, I’ve been working with them for five years now and, honestly, I think it’s something that all the young players should look at. We think we are actually doing the good things but when I started to follow this advice – to eat the right things in the right moment – it makes a huge difference. Not maybe in the present, but you can see a really big difference maybe three or four months later.”
”Nutrition is very complex. It’s about discipline. . . discipline. It’s not about the results, it’s about the process. You need to stick with the process. That’s it. For me, personally, it made a huge difference and I think that’s why I also can have a long career, I hope.”