Júlio César Soares Espíndola

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Júlio César
Júlio César FC Internazionale.jpg
Personal information
Full name Júlio César Soares de Espíndola
Date of birth 3 September 1979 (1979-09-03) (age 32)
Place of birth Duque de Caxias, Brazil
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Internazionale
Number 1
Youth career
Grajau CC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1998–2005 Flamengo 130 (0)
2005– Internazionale 209 (0)
National team‡
2003– Brazil 64 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 July 2011

Júlio César Soares de Espíndola (born 3 September 1979), commonly known as simply Júlio César, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Internazionale of the Italian Serie A. He is also currently the first-choice goalkeeper for the Brazilian national team, having won 63 international caps.

In 2009, IFFHS named him as the third best goalkeeper in the world, behind only Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon.[1] He has also been awarded the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year title in 2009 and in 2010.[2] He was nominated for the 2009 Ballon d'Or and was voted into 21st place; Casillas was the only other goalkeeper nominated.[3]

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Flamengo

[icon] This section requires expansion.

Júlio César began his professional career with Clube de Regatas do Flamengo in 1997 as the understudy to veteran Clemer. By 2000, he was the Rubro-Negro's undisputed first choice goalkeeper and went on to win the Campeonato Carioca four times. His impressive form culminated in him being named as Brazil's first choice goalkeeper for the 2004 Copa América. During his time with Flamengo he became a fan favourite due to his love for the club and talent between the sticks.

He was signed on a free transfer by Chievo Verona in January 2005, although it was widely speculated that this would be a temporary move before a transfer to Serie A powerhouse Inter.[4]

Due to Serie A rules which impose a cap on the number of non-EU players clubs can sign from abroad, Júlio César was initially registered to Chievo.[5] During his six months in Verona, he was down the goalkeeping picking order, with Luca Marchegiani as first-choice, and failed to make an appearance. Despite his lack of club action, he was regularly named in the Brazilian national team squad.

In July 2005, he officially signed a three-year contract with Internazionale.[6]

[edit] Inter

He joined up with the Inter squad for the 2005–06 season and was expected to be second choice goalkeeper behind Francesco Toldo. His first game for the team was spent on the bench as Inter won the Supercoppa Italiana. He soon established himself ahead of Toldo, however, as the team's first choice, as Inter went on to finish third in Serie A, behind only Juventus and city rivals Milan, but were later awarded the title due to the sanctions imposed following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

In July 2009, Júlio César was chosen by ESPN Brasil as the best player of the 2008–09 season. He also received the Prêmio Futebol no Mundo (Football in the World Award).[7]

In November 2009, he signed a contract with Inter which will last until 2014, adding two more years to his contract.[8] His impressive form for the Nerazzuri has earned him praise from former Inter and Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, who stated his belief that Júlio César is the best goalkeeper in the world.[9] He has also earned praise from Italy legend Dino Zoff and team-mate Francesco Toldo.[10][11] On 24 January 2010, Julio Cesar made a crucial penalty save from Brazilian teammate Ronaldinho, as a nine-man Inter squad won 2–0 against Milan in a traditional Derby della Madonnina match.He has been named Serie A goalkeeper of the year in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

[edit] International career

Júlio César's international career began in 2003, when he was often called up as a backup to Dida. He was also included in Brazil team for the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, but did not play. His first international appearance came during the Copa América 2004. He played in all six matches in the tournament as first-choice goalkeeper, as Dida chose to sit out the tournament. In the final match against Argentina, which went on to be decided by penalty shootout, Júlio César blocked Argentina's first penalty kick and Brazil went on to win 4–2.

However, Júlio still was the backup goalkeeper for Brazil for the next three years, earning only seven caps in the period. He was left out of Brazil team for 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and Copa América 2007, but was included in 2006 FIFA World Cup squad as third-choice goalkeeper behind Dida and veteran Rogério Ceni.

After the World Cup and the international retirement of Dida, the competition to become Brazil's new first-choice goalkeeper began. He initially was out of favour, as new coach Dunga preferred Heurelho Gomes of Tottenham Hotspur, Helton of FC Porto, and Doni of Roma ahead of him. He forced his way into the team, however, and finally replaced Doni as first-choice goalkeeper in September 2007.

Julio Cesar's next international tournament was 2009 Confederations Cup. The tournament was won by Brazil, who retained the trophy they won in 2005 by defeating the United States 3–2 in the final.

He was named in Coach Dunga's final squad of 23 for the Brazilian squad in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. This was his second World Cup. In the quarter-finals Holland won 2–1 over Brazil with Wesley Sneijder scoring two goals, and Brazil were ultimately eliminated from the tournament. Julio Cesar was heavily criticised for his performance in this match, following a goalkeeping blunder that resulted in the first goal for Holland, providing them with the momentum to go on and win the match. Cesar came off his line to intercept a cross from Sneijder, but uncharacteristically missed the ball (shared blame with Felipe Melo), allowing the cross to pass into the goal without touch from Cesar.

[edit] Career statistics

As of 24 May 2011.[12]
Club League Cup[13] Continental[14] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Flamengo 1997 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
1998 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
1999 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2000 16 0 1 0 0 0 17 0
2001 26 0 6 0 0 0 32 0
2002 16 0 0 0 5 0 21 0
2003 37 0 9 0 0 0 46 0
2004 34 0 11 0 0 0 45 0
Total 130 0 28 0 5 0 163 0
Chievo 2004–05 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Internazionale 2005–06 29 0 4 0 7 0 40 0
2006–07 32 0 0 0 6 0 38 0
2007–08 35 0 1 0 8 0 44 0
2008–09 36 0 2 0 7 0 43 0
2009–10 38 0 4 0 13 0 55 0
2010–11 24 0 3 0 10 0 37 0
Total 194 0 14 0 51 0 259 0
Career totals 324 0 42 0 56 0 422 0

[edit] International statistics

As of 28 February 2012.[15][16][17]
National team Club Season Apps Goals
Brazil Flamengo 2004 9 0
Chievo 2004–05 1 0
Internazionale 2005–06 1 0
2006–07 2 0
2007–08 11 0
2008–09 15 0
2009–10 14 0
2010–11 7 0
2011–12 4 0
Total 64 0

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

Flamengo
Internazionale

[edit] International

Brazil

[edit] Individual

[edit] Personal life

César is married to Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner. Together, they have two children; Cauet, born in 2002, and Giulia, born in 2005. He is sponsored by Asics.[18] In 2010 Julio Cesar was involved in a car crash when he lost control of his Lamborghini.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The world's best Goalkeeper 2009 IFFHS.de Retrieved 1 March 2010
  2. ^ Ex-Inter Star Zlatan Ibrahimovic Wins 2009 'Oscar Del Calcio' goal.com 19 January 2010
  3. ^ Le classement final francefootball.fr 1 December 2009
  4. ^ Chievo unveil keeper Sky Sports.com 25 February 2005
  5. ^ Inter land Brazilian keeper Sky Sports.com 8 July 2005
  6. ^ "INTER SIGN GOALKEEPER JULIO CESAR". FC Internazionale. 8 July 2005. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?L=en&N=19258. Retrieved 19 July 2009. 
  7. ^ "Júlio César é o grande vencedor do 1º Prêmio Futebol no Mundo". ESPN Brasil. 3 July 2009. http://afterdark.terra.com.br/futebolnomundo/post/59761_JULIO+CESAR+E+O+GRANDE+VENCEDOR+DO+1+PREMIO+FUTEBOL+NO+MUNDO. Retrieved 27 December 2009. 
  8. ^ "Inter, Julio Cesar together until 2014". inter.it. 10 November 2009. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?L=en&N=32602. Retrieved 15 December 2009. 
  9. ^ Gianluca Pagliuca: Inter's Julio Cesar is the World's Best Goalkeeper goal.com 10 October 2010
  10. ^ Italy Great Dino Zoff Crowns Inter 'Keeper Julio Cesar goal.com 6 March 2009
  11. ^ Inter's Toldo Praises Jose Mourinho & Julio Cesar goal.com 9 April 2009
  12. ^ "Júlio César". ESPN. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/gamelog?id=39748&cc=5739. Retrieved 21 October 2010. 
  13. ^ Includes Copa do Brasil, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana
  14. ^ Includes Copa Libertadores and UEFA Champions League
  15. ^ "Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2004–2005". RSSSFbrasil.com. http://www.rsssfbrasil.com/sel/brazil200405.htm. Retrieved 2 July 2009. 
  16. ^ "Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2006–2007". RSSSFbrasil.com. http://www.rsssfbrasil.com/sel/brazil200607.htm. Retrieved 2 July 2009. 
  17. ^ "Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2008–2009". RSSSFbrasil.com. http://www.rsssfbrasil.com/sel/brazil200809.htm. Retrieved 2 July 2009. 
  18. ^ Asics Football Boots

[edit] External links

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