Júlio Baptista

Júlio Baptista

Personal information
Full name	Júlio Clement Baptista
Height	1.83m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Attacking Midfielder Centre Midfielder Second Striker
Team information
Current team	Arsenal
Number	9
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10:46, 25 November 2006 (UTC)

Júlio Baptista (born 1 October 1981 in São Paulo) is a football player from Brazil. Nicknamed la Bestia (the Beast) or the Tank, he plays as an attacking midfielder for Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid.

Clubs

Early career

Referred to as the "Beast of Sevilla" and even as the "Brazilian Steven Gerrard" , Júlio Baptista began his professional career in 2000 as a defensive midfielder with São Paulo F.C., before moving to Spanish club Sevilla FC in 2003. Between 2003 and 2005 he made 63 appearances and scored 38 goals for Sevilla, having switched position so that he operated further forward.

Real Madrid

On 29 July 2005, he signed a 5-year, €20 million (£13 million) deal with Real Madrid after a month of heated bidding from English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur. During the bidding, Baptista frequently cited his desire to remain in Spain at least through 2005 in order to qualify for a European passport which would provide him great flexibility in moving about the continent.

At Real Madrid, Baptista was often played out of position as a left-winger to accommodate the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Guti in the Spanish side's attacking line-up. Thus, his form dipped and he was left out of the Brazil squad for the 2006 World Cup.

At the end of August 2006, with the transfer window about to close, press reports linked him with a move to either Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal, with the latter possibly as part of a swap deal including José Antonio Reyes. Baptista himself had strenuously claimed that he was not interested in a move away from Real Madrid.

However, on 31 August 2006, the day of the transfer deadline, Baptista moved to Arsenal in exchange for José Antonio Reyes, the deal involved the two players swapping clubs on 12 month loan deals.

Arsenal

Baptista received the number 9 jersey at Arsenal, and made his debut for the club on 9 September 2006, coming on as a substitute against Middlesbrough. He scored his first goal for Arsenal against Hamburg SV on 21 November 2006. Baptista scored his first hat-trick for Arsenal at Anfield in their League Cup quarter-final victory against Liverpool on January 9 2007, where he scored four overall in a 6-3 win for Arsenal with two of the goals being a spectacular freekick and a long range shot. Despite missing a penalty, it was the first time an Arsenal player had scored more than three in a League Cup tie , and he was the first player in over 60 years to score four goals against Liverpool at Anfield. He continued his goalscoring run scoring two in the League Cup with a brace against arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, in the first leg of the semi-final on January 24th at White Hart Lane. However, his great form has been put on hold due to a minor groin injury. He returned putting on a superb display against against Wigan setting up fellow team mate Tomas Rosicky for a goal in the dying moments of the game. Julio Baptista started in the F.A Cup tie against Bolton where he featured for the whole match, Julio Baptista was brought down by Israel defender Tal Ben Haim and won a penalty which was missed by fellow team Brazilian Gilberto Silva. Julio Baptista then went on to take a penalty himself but also missed the penalty.

National team

He has 18 caps with the Brazil national team, and has netted three goals for Brazil. His first cap came on 4 June 2001 against Japan in the Confederations Cup in Ibaraki, Japan (0-0 draw).

Honours

• Winner of São Paulo State championship in 2000 with São Paulo Futebol Clube
• Winner of São Paulo Cup (under 20s) in 2000 with São Paulo Futebol Clube
• Winner Rio–São Paulo Tournament in 2001 with São Paulo Futebol Clube
• Winner of São Paulo State Super-championship in 2002 with São Paulo Futebol Clube
• Winner of Copa América in 2004 with the Brazil national team
• Winner of Confederations Cup in 2005 with the Brazil national team

Career statistics

(correct as of 12 February 2007)

Club	Season	League			Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Sevilla FC	2003-04	30	20	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	30	20	-
	2004-05	31	18	-	-	-	-	7	4	-	38	22	-
Real Madrid	2005-06	32	8	-	-	-	-	7	0	-	39	8	-
Arsenal	2006-07	12	0	1	4	6	0	2	1	0	18	7	1
Career totals											125	57	1

Quotes

"I have known him a long time and he is a great player. It will be easy for him to settle because his game is totally suited to the Premiership. I don't see why he can't become one of the stars of the season." —Ronaldinho

"Technically, he brings the quality of a Brazilian player but he also brings his personality: he is very strong, very strong-willed. He is a winner, He can defend, he can attack and he can score goals and this is very important." —Dunga

"Júlio Baptista will be a great addition to our squad, He is a powerful young international and is a versatile footballer who can operate both in midfield and as a striker. He has shown his potential over the past few seasons in Spain with both Real Madrid and Sevilla and we are looking forward to him joining us." —Arsène Wenger

External links

• Arsenal.com profile
• Júlio Baptista at Soccerbase
• Júlio Baptista player information, honours, detailed career stats and timeline