Juninho Pernambucano
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Júnior | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | CentralMidfielder | ||
| 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. Juninho is considered the best freekick taker in the world and of all time.
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.
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.
Free kick goals
Template:Entête tableau charte ! # ! Match ! Competition ! Season ! Date ! Minute |----- | 1 | OL - FC Sochaux | Ligue 1 | 2001-2002 | 20 October 2001 | 82nd |-Template:Ligne grise | 2 | OL - CS Sedan | Ligue 1 | 2002-2003 | 10 August 2002 | 44th |----- | 3 | OL - RC Lens | Ligue 1 | 2002-2003 | 10 September 2002 | 32nd |-Template:Ligne grise | 4 | OL - AJ Auxerre | Ligue 1 | 2002-2003 | 19 October 2002 | 37th |----- | 5 | OL - AJ Auxerre | Ligue 1 | 2002-2003 | 19 October 2002 | 75th |-Template:Ligne grise | 6 | OL - Stade Rennais | Ligue 1 | 2002-2003 | 22 February 2003 | 16th |----- | 7 | OL - RC Lens | Ligue 1 | 2003-2004 | 27 September 2003 | 57nd |-Template:Ligne grise | 8 | OL - OGC Nice | Ligue 1 | 2003-2004 | 1 November 2003 | 24th |----- | 9 | Bayern Munich - OL | UEFA Champions League | 2003-2004 | 5 November 2003 | 6th |-Template:Ligne grise | 10 | FC Metz - OL | Ligue 1 | 2003-2004 | 8 May 2004 | 22nd |----- | 11 | OL - SC Bastia | Ligue 1 | 2003-2004 | 12 May 2004 | 36th |-Template:Ligne grise | 12 | AS Saint-Étienne - OL | Ligue 1 | 2004-2005 | 3 October 2004 | 34th |----- | 13 | AC Ajaccio - OL | Ligue 1 | 2004-2005 | 4 December 2004 | 87th |-Template:Ligne grise | 14 | Viry-Châtillon - OL | French Cup | 2004-2005 | 8 January 2005 | 27th |----- | 15 | OL - FC Metz | Ligue 1 | 2004-2005 | 15 January 2005 | 84th |-Template:Ligne grise | 16 | OL - Toulouse FC | Ligue 1 | 2004-2005 | 5 February 2005 | 2nd |----- | 17 | OL - Toulouse FC | Ligue 1 | 2004-2005 | 5 February 2005 | 51st |-Template:Ligne grise | 18 | Werder Bremen - OL | UEFA Champions League | 2004-2005 | 23 February 2005 | 80th |----- | 19 | OL - FC Istres | Ligue 1 | 2004-2005 | 12 March 2005 | 20nd |-Template:Ligne grise | 20 | OL - Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League | 2005-2006 | 13 September 2005 | 25th |----- | 21 | OL - AC Ajaccio | Ligue 1 | 2005-2006 | 16 October 2005 | 49th |-Template:Ligne grise | 22 | OL - Olympiacos CFP | UEFA Champions League | 2005-2006 | 19 October 2005 | 4th |----- | 23 | Olympiacos CFP - OL | UEFA Champions League | 2005-2006 | 1 November 2005 | 41st |-Template:Ligne grise | 24 | OL - FC Nantes | Ligue 1 | 2005-2006 | 17 February 2006 | 9th |----- | 25 | PSV Eindhoven - OL | UEFA Champions League | 2005-2006 | 21 February 2006 | 64th |-Template:Ligne grise | 26 | AC Ajaccio - OL | Ligue 1 | 2005-2006 | 4 March 2006 | 61st |----- | 27 | OL - Le Mans | Ligue 1 | 2005-2006 | 13 May 2006 | 42nd |-Template:Ligne grise | 28 | OL - ESTAC | Ligue 1 | 2006-2007 | 9 September 2006 | 87th |----- | 29 | Dynamo Kiev - OL | UEFA Champions League | 2006-2007 | 17 October 2006 | 31st |-Template:Ligne grise | 30 | OM - OL | Ligue 1 | 2006-2007 | 22 October 2006 | 20th |----- | 31 | RC Lens - OL | Ligue 1 | 2006-2007 | 16 December 2006 | 22nd |-Template:Ligne grise | 32 | Aviron Bayonnais Football Club - OL | French Cup | 2006-2007 | 7 January 2007 | 75th |----- | 33 | FC Metz - OL | Ligue 1 | 2007-2008 | 15 September 2007 | 86th |}
Honours
- SC 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
- He is married with Renata. Juninho has two children: Giovanna (nine years old) and Maria Clara (three years old).
- 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
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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