Júlio César (footballer, born 1984)

Júlio César

Personal information
Full name	Júlio César de Souza Santos
Date of birth	(1984-10-27) 27 October 1984
Place of birth	São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Nautico
Youth career
2002–2004	Corinthians
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2014	Corinthians	141	(0)
2014	→ Náutico (loan)	24	(0)
2015–	Náutico	36	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 October 2013.

Júlio César de Souza Santos or simply Júlio César (born 27 October 1984 in São Paulo, São Paulo) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Nautico in the Brazilian Série B.^[1]

Career

Early career

Born in São Paulo, Júlio César started playing football as a child on the streets of the Tucuruvi neighborhood. By the age of 9, he defended Clube de Campo Associação Atlética Guapira. After a friendly match against Corinthians in the age of 15, Júlio was invited by a scout to train at their youth team, with which he won the 2004 and 2005 editions of the Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior.^[2]

Professional career

After Corinthians' main goalkeeper, Fábio Costa was barred by the coach Daniel Passarella and his immediate reserve Tiago suffered 5 goals in a derby match against São Paulo FC, Júlio Cesar's chances began to rise. After another loss with Tiago on the squad and Daniel Passarella's firing, Júlio César made his debut in a match against Figueirense from Santa Catarina. Corinthians won by two goals to one, and Júlio César was sent to the bench again, as he was replaced with Marcelo Marinho, also from the youth team. That would be the only appearance from Júlio César in the 2005 season, which was won by Corinthians in controversial fashion.^[3][4]

The departure of Fábio Costa in 2006 caused a quick turnaround of goalkeepers in the team that would only end in 2008, such as Silvio Luiz, Johnny Herrera, and Bruno, who did not play for the team, Jean, who soon was barred from the main team, and Felipe. Júlio César only had a chance in 2008, after Marcelo's departure and Felipe's injury. Playing in matches for the Campeonato Paulista, Júlio earned a place as the main goalkeeper after Felipe failed in the Copa do Brasil, losing it yet again after Felipe rejoined the team, despite playing well. After Felipe's troubled departure from Corinthians, Júlio Cesar finally cemented his place as a main goalkeeper. Corinthians hired Paraguay national football team's Aldo Bobadilla for the goalkeeping position, who did not play for the team.

After poor showings in the 2011 Campeonato Paulista, Corinthians announced the arrival of a new goalkeeper, Renan from Avaí Futebol Clube. In a match against Botafogo, Júlio César suffered a compound fracture in his left pinky finger, but he soldiered on, as Corinthians had already made its 3 substitutions for the game. Renan, however, did not make good use of Júlio César's absence, playing poorly and losing his position to the third keeper, Danilo Fernandes, until Júlio was completely recovered and back to his goalkeeping duties. ^[5]

On 12 October 2011, Júlio César played his 100th match for Corinthians, losing by 2 goals against Botafogo.^[6]

After overcoming harsh criticism from the fans, Júlio César finished 2011 as the absolute main goalkeeper for the team, helping Corinthians win the 2011 Campeonato Brasileiro.^[7]

In 2012, however, Júlio César's main team status was in danger. During the 2012 Campeonato Paulista, Júlio was criticized by his performances.^[8] The elimination against the Campinas squad AA Ponte Preta in the quarter finals, in which Júlio had committed "grotesque failings", suffering three goals against a weaker team caused manager Tite to replace him with the former goalkeeper of PSV Eindhoven, Cássio.^[9] Cássio did not disappoint, and was the main goalkeeper during Corinthians' unbeaten Libertadores campaign.^[10] Júlio was briefly linked with São Paulo squad Portuguesa, but the move did not materialize.^[11]

Honours

Club honours

Corinthians

• Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior: 2004 2005
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A: 2005, 2011
• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2008
• Campeonato Paulista: 2009
• Copa do Brasil: 2009
• Copa Libertadores: 2012
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2012
• Campeonato Paulista: 2013
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2013

Personal life

Júlio César is a protestant, converting in 2005.^[12][13]

Statistics

References

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Globo Esporte's Futpedia