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José Carlos Pinto Noronha

Director of the Health and Performance Unit of the Portuguese Football Federation

At the age of 64, José Carlos Noronha’s name is unavoidable in the world of national and international football. Born in Rio de Janeiro, he moved to Portugal aged three, where he attended school in Arouca and Lamego, before studying medicine in Coimbra, and specialising in Orthopaedics in Oporto. He gained a PhD from the Abel Salazar Institute of Biomedical Sciences in 1999. He is a surgeon of FC Porto, as well as a researcher in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Aveiro. The clinical director of the Health and Performance Unit of the Portuguese Football Federation is also the author of five books on knee ligament injuries.

José Carlos Pinto Noronha
Have you ever been grateful for the knee injury you had, for making you the person you are today?
It is true. I think the injury I had at age 24, when I tore the anterior cruciate ligament and the inner meniscus of my right knee, changed the course of my life. I had just graduated. I decided to leave football and other sports that involved knee rotation for good. These lesions led me to orthopaedics and, in the final phase of the speciality, I decided to intern in leading centres dedicated to knee disorders (Barcelona, Lyon, St. Etienne, Paris and New York).

While on the matter, how is your knee doing; have you ever needed any further work on it?
I was operated on about six months after the ligament was torn, for the excision of the meniscus. I currently have moderate, but easily tolerable arthrosis. I rarely have any pain.
«I have operated on players from 44 countries»
You are a football fan; how do you deal with the world’s greatest football stars? Is it just a doctor-patient relationship or can it go beyond that?
I like football very much. I really appreciate football artists, such as our Cristiano Ronaldo. I started coming into contact with football’s biggest names about 15 years ago. I think the faith that football’s greatest businessman, Jorge Mendes, has placed in me since 2003 was the launch pad into the world of football. By entrusting me with the treatment or guidance of athletes he represented, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, I have been allowed some success. José Mourinho is also largely responsible for my professional career, as the praise I have received in the media and trust he has in me treating his athletes at FC Porto, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United have contributed a great deal to this. With the athletes I treat and with others who have never needed my services, I have a relationship that can be said to be one of friendship.

Do you ever feel slightly nervous about being responsible for knees worth millions?
The fact that I treat athletes worth millions can cause, as is only natural, some displays of what could be seen as envy. But there are frequent displays of satisfaction, which come from true friends.

You have operated on players from several countries. What was the most extraordinary case to have passed through your hands?
I have operated on players from 44 countries. In addition to the athletes who 'have passed' through my hands, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Falcão, Pepe, Hulk, Neymar, etc., I have treated several important personalities. I won’t name names, so as not to hurt anyone.

Do you feel that for all you’ve done, the football world owes you a lot?
I’m the one who owes a lot to the world of football. It was this world that helped me and still helps me to be what I am, not forgetting my family, to whom I owe so much.

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