Huh, BTW, as it usually happens here, the original subject (Pinto) was taken into a different subject: "winning with style".
If you have a great accountant in a firm, who does a superior job and saves the company a lot of money, only that once in a long while, he f...s up BIG time and causes the company a bundle of money, well, that is NOT the accountant you need, no matter how good he "normally" is. You MUST have one that's more reliable for the sake of the company and for the long run, and if you're a manager who knows what you're doing, you must take action and make a prompt, sound decision. Mgmt 101.
That accountant is Pinto on Cup games. Just because he has a few great saves does not take away the risks that it means to have him there because VV can perform as good or better saves and he would've certainly not allowed Ronaldo to go around him and to score. And needless to mention his limited and scary foot play level.
Anybody who still thinks Pinto is fine, just think at what not stopping Ronaldo meant: first, it freed RM out of the deja-vu 0-2 hole. Second, it gave RM a fresh re-start and true hope along with a "yes, we can" feeling which was clearly illustrated on the field from that point on, and last (and worst) it demoralized our boys and it was all downhill from there, with their backs against the wall, which is a very disturbing picture when you know their World status and how good they always are, plus it came very close to giving RM the pass to the semi's, or the Cup, itself AT THE CAMP NOU. And why all this? Huh, because "he's our Cup goalie", really...OK, let's keep that accountant (i.e. Pinto for the Cup games) because he's (charming?). I truly have a problem understanding Pep's lack of vision/logic on this particular subject and all the blind people who fail to assess the negative effects of Pinto in that game and its consequences... Thank God that it wasn't enough to give those "animals" (Xavi's spot-on quote) the Cup once again. Whew!