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Juninho Paulista

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For other people named Juninho, see Juninho (disambiguation).
Juninho Paulista
Personal information
Full name Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 15:48, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Juninho, full name Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior, nicknamed Juninho Paulista,[1] (born February 22, 1973 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian footballer.

He has scored five goals in 50 games for the Brazilian national team,[2] winning the 2002 FIFA World Cup championship and bronze medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics. During his career, Juninho has played for Brazilian clubs São Paulo FC, Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras, CR Flamengo, as well as English club Middlesbrough F.C., Spanish club Atlético Madrid, and Celtic F.C. in Scotland.

Club career

Born in São Paulo, Juninho began his senior career with local team São Paulo FC in 1993. He won a number of trophies with the club, including the 1993 South American Copa Libertadores championship, the 1993 Intercontinental Cup against Italian team AC Milan, and the 1994 Copa CONMEBOL. He made his debut for the Brazilian national team ("O Seleção") in February 1995, before moving abroad to play in Europe. Juninho was sacked by club Flamengo after arguing with and insulting coach Ney Franco after refusing to be substituted at half-time during the disappointing 3-0 quarter-final defeat at Uruguayan side Defensor Sporting in the Copa Libertadores.

Flamengo vice-president Kleber Leite confirmed that the ex-Middlesbrough playmaker's contract will now be torn up.


Middlesbrough

He signed for English club Middlesbrough F.C. in October 1995, just months after they had been promoted to the top-flight FA Premier League championship. Then aged 22, Juninho had been tracked by numerous European top clubs, and it was a major surprise when he signed for "the Teessiders". Juninho became known as TLF (The Little Fella) by "Boro" fans, and he is one of the greatest players to have played for Middlesbrough in the modern era. The nickname alludes to his height: only 1.67 metres. During his time with Middlesbrough, Juninho lived in Levendale and Ingleby Barwick with his parents, and was known to play football in the street with local school children.[citation needed]

For Middlesbrough, Juninho was extremely effective in the attacking midfielder position, where his skills helped the club reach the final of both domestic cup finals in 1997; the FA Cup and English League Cup finals, which were both lost. At the end of the 1997 season, a three-point deduction in the FA Premier League condemned Middlesbrough to relegation to the secondary Division One. For some time there had been speculation that Juninho would leave the club, and the relegation put paid to any realistic hope that "Boro" might have had of holding onto Juninho.

Juninho was sold to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish top-flight La Liga championship, and started out well for the team. He was loaned back to Middlesbrough during the 1999-2000 season, and scored four goals in 24 games for the club, before returning to Atletico Madrid. Upon his return, Atletico had been relegated to the secondary Segunda División. Juninho was then loaned out to Brazilian team Vasco da Gama. Here he played alongside namesake Juninho Pernambucano, and won the 2000 domestic Campeonato Brasileiro Série A championship and the international Copa Mercosur trophy. He also had a brief loan spell with Flamengo.

Juninho began his third spell with Middlesbrough in the summer of 2002, when he permanently left Atletico Madrid. He spent two years back at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, and helped the club win the 2004 Football League Cup. He is still adored by the Boro faithful to this day.

Brazilian return

At the end of the 2004 season, he moved to Scottish club Celtic on a free transfer. Juninho made his debut in an Old Firm derby against Celtic's bitter rivals Rangers FC, as Celtic won 1-0. Like Irish international midfielder Roy Keane, Juninho won the man of the match award in his first Old Firm derby. Juninho never settled well at Celtic, as he claimed Celtic manager Martin O'Neill never gave him a chance. He returned to Brazil in 2005, to play for Palmeiras. He moved back to his former team Flamengo in 2007, and helped the team win the 2007 Taça Guanabara, but was fired in May

International

Juninho has been capped more than 50 times for the Brazilian national team ("O Seleção"). During his international debut year of 1995, Juninho was given the prestigious number 10 shirt. This prompted Brazilian team captain Dunga ask Seleção manager Mário Zagallo, "Why are you giving that skinny little kid a shirt?" After seeing him play, Dunga was sure that he had the credentials to play for O Seleção, and went on to praise his abilities.

Juninho was a friend of fiery tempered forward Edmundo, but the friendship apparently disappeared after Edmundo punched him in the face. Until 2006, they both played for Palmeiras.

Juninho helped his country to the FIFA World Cup title in 2002. He made a significant contribution, playing in 5 of Brazil's 7 matches in the tournament. In the tournament final, he came on as a late substitute, playing the last five minutes of the 2-0 win over Germany.

Honours

Club

São Paulo
Vasco da Gama
Middlesbrough
Flamengo
Olympic medal record
Representing  Brazil
Men's Football
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Atlanta Team Competition

International

Footnotes

  1. ^ A nickname based on the common Brazilian diminutive Juninho, used for anyone with the word Junior in their name, combined with Paulista, indicating his place of origin, São Paulo.
  2. ^ Juninho Paulista at SambaFoot.com
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