Juninho Pernambucano: Difference between revisions
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'''Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior''' (born [[January 30]], [[1975]] in [[Recife]]), commonly known as '''Juninho''' or '''Juninho Pernambucano''',<ref>His nickname comes from a combination of the Brazilian diminutive "Juninho" which is commonly applied to any person with the name "Junior" and "Pernambucano" meaning someone born in the north-eastern Brazilian state of [[Pernambuco]]. He is sometimes referred to as "Pernambucano" in southern France.</ref> is a [[Brazil]]ian [[football (soccer)|football]] player, who plays as a [[central midfielder]] for [[France|French]] club [[Olympique Lyonnais]]. He scored seven goals in 44 games for the [[Brazil national football team|Brazilian national team]], before retiring from international football after the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]]. |
'''Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior''' (born [[January 30]], [[1975]] in [[Recife]]), commonly known as '''Juninho''' or '''Juninho Pernambucano''',<ref>His nickname comes from a combination of the Brazilian diminutive "Juninho" which is commonly applied to any person with the name "Junior" and "Pernambucano" meaning someone born in the north-eastern Brazilian state of [[Pernambuco]]. He is sometimes referred to as "Pernambucano" in southern France.</ref> is a [[Brazil]]ian [[football (soccer)|football]] player, who plays as a [[central midfielder]] for [[France|French]] club [[Olympique Lyonnais]]. He scored seven goals in 44 games for the [[Brazil national football team|Brazilian national team]], before retiring from international football after the [[2006 FIFA World Cup]]. Best freekicker ever. |
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==Biography== |
==Biography== |
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Revision as of 11:17, 22 November 2007
| File:Juninho wikipedia.jpg | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lyon (Captain) | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 24, 2006 | |||
Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior (born January 30, 1975 in Recife), commonly known as Juninho or Juninho Pernambucano,[1] is a Brazilian football player, who plays as a central midfielder for French club Olympique Lyonnais. He scored seven goals in 44 games for the Brazilian national team, before retiring from international football after the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Best freekicker ever.
Biography
He moved to CR Vasco da Gama in 1995, and played 110 games for the club, scoring 24 goals. He won several trophies with Vasco, including the Brazilian Championship in 1997 and 2000, the Copa Libertadores in 1998, the Copa Mercosul in 2000, as well as the 2000 Brazilian Silver Ball award, as one of the best Brazilian midfielders of the season. He made his debut for the Brazilian national team in 1999. On September 7 1999, Juninho became the first football player to play a top-level match in two different countries in the same day. He represented his country in the second half of the friendly between Brazil and Argentina in Porto Alegre, which Brazil won 4-2, playing about fifteen minutes. In spite of a delayed flight to Montevideo, he still arrived in Uruguay on time to feature in the second half of the Copa Mercosur match between Vasco and National. In 2001, Juninho moved abroad to play for French club Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon). Before his arrival at Lyon, the club had never won the French Ligue 1 championship. In his first year at the club, the championship was secured, and it was subsequently won six seasons in a row. At Lyon, Juninho made himself especially noted for his accurate, powerful and varied set pieces. In addition, he is an effective passer, having provided many assists, and his leadership abilities have prompted Lyon manager Gérard Houllier to name him team captain. Juninho represented Brazil at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Following Brazil's exit in the quarter-finals of the tournament, he announced his international retirement, as to make way for younger talents coming through the ranks in Brazil to build for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Juninho has been nominated many times for FIFA World Player of the Year award and France Football Ballon d'Or but it has still not gained it.
To date, Juninho has scored 33 freekicks for Lyon with the latest being a 35-yard screamer in the 5-1 victory over Metz in the Ligue 1 match on September 15 2007.
He is married to Renata and has three children - Giovanna, Maria Clara, and Raphaela.[citation needed]
Free kicks
Juninho has become renowned for this expertise in set-piece situations and is a free kick specialist.[citation needed]
He is known to have fifty percent of his freekicks to go on target. A survey by the French sports daily L'Equipe from December 2006, revealed that 45% of Lyon's goals (at the time one of the best attacking teams in Europe) resulted - either directly or indirectly -from a set-pieces and freekicks delivereds by Juninho.[citation needed] His set-piece precision could be attributed to the fact he used to play futsal, where the goals are much smaller and therefore precision is required.[citation needed]
Juninho's free kicks have comparatively less ball rotation, but high air speed. This makes use of any air drafts or wind which causes changing drag patterns on the seams of the ball. Thus the ball may move unpredictably or 'wobble' in the air. This has lead many to avoid forming a wall between Juninho and the goal on set-pieces, to give the goalkeeper a greater chance of keeping out the shot when their view of the ball is not impeded. To date, Juninho has scored 33 freekicks for Olympique Lyonnais.[citation needed]
After he scored a 41 meter free kick for O.Lyon, Pro Evolution Soccer gave him the ultimate gift in their game for free kick specialists, a 99 Free Kick Accuracy stat.[citation needed]
Honours
- Sport Recife
- CR Vasco da Gama
- Brazilian championship: 1997 and 2000
- Rio de Janeiro State championship: 1998
- Copa Libertadores: 1998
- Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1999
- Mercosur Cup: 2000
- Olympique Lyonnais
- French Ligue 1 championship: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007
- Trophée Des Champions: 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005
- Brazil national team
Footnotes
- ^ His nickname comes from a combination of the Brazilian diminutive "Juninho" which is commonly applied to any person with the name "Junior" and "Pernambucano" meaning someone born in the north-eastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco. He is sometimes referred to as "Pernambucano" in southern France.
External links
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