Juninho Pernambucano

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Juninho Pernambucano
Personal information
Full name	Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Junior
Date of birth	January 30, 1975 (1975-01-30) (age 33)
Place of birth	Recife, Brazil
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Lyon
Number	8
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993-1994 1994-2001 2001-present	Sport Recife Vasco da Gama Lyon	025 0(8) 291 (56) 262 (89)
National team2
1999-2006	Brazil	044 0(7)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 07:17, 25 February 2008 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 07:17, 25 February 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Antônio Augusto Ribeiro Reis Junior (born January 30, 1975 in Recife), commonly known as Juninho or Juninho Pernambucano,^[1] is a Brazilian football player, who plays as an attacking 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.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Free kicks 1.2 King of São Januário 2 Honours 3 Footnotes 4 External links

[edit] Biography

He moved to CR Vasco da Gama in 1995, and played 291 games for the club, scoring 56 goals. He won several trophies with Vasco, including the Brazilian Championship in 1997 and 2000, the Copa Libertadores in 1998, the Copa Mercosur 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 two top-level matches in two different countries in the same day.^{[citation needed]} 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 in time to feature in the second half of the Copa Mercosur match between Vasco and Nacional.

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 defeat 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.

[edit] Free kicks

Juninho has been described as one "of the world's most feared strikers of a static ball".^[2] As of March 8, 2008, Juninho has scored 36 freekicks for Olympique Lyonnais.^[3]

[edit] King of São Januário

Before joining Lyon, Juninho played for Vasco da Gama in Brazil's Série A. While there, he won the Brazilian Championship twice (1997, 2000) and two continental cups (the Copa Libertadores in 1998 and the Copa Mercosur in 2000), becoming a favorite of the Vasco fans.^{[citation needed]}

Since that time, he has been known as "Reizinho de São Januário" (The Little King of São Januário)^[4] or "Reizinho da Colina" (The Little King of The Hill),^[5] a reference to Vasco da Gama Stadium's name (São Januário) or nickname (Stadium of The Hill). Although he left the club after a judicial fight, when he went to Lyon team, he still is a favorite of Vasco fans,^{[citation needed]} been citated in a classic chorus of them,^{[citation needed]} where remember his free-kick goal against River Plate, at Monumental de Núñez, in 1998 Libertadores ^{[6] [7]} that helped the club to go to the final against Barcelona de Guayaquil.

[edit] Honours

Sport Recife

• Pernambuco State championship: 1994

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, 2005, 2006 and 2007

Brazil national team

• 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Juninho Pernambucano Video

• FootballDatabase profile

• Official Website

v • d • e Brazil squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup
1 Dida • 2 Cafu • 3 Lúcio • 4 Juan • 5 Emerson • 6 Roberto Carlos • 7 Adriano • 8 Kaká • 9 Ronaldo • 10 Ronaldinho • 11 Zé Roberto • 12 Rogério Ceni • 13 Cicinho • 14 Luisão • 15 Cris • 16 Gilberto • 17 Gilberto Silva • 18 Mineiro • 19 Juninho • 20 Ricardinho • 21 Fred • 22 Júlio César • 23 Robinho • Coach: Parreira

v • d • e Olympique Lyonnais – current squad
1 Coupet • 2 Clerc • 3 Cris • 4 Müller • 5 Bodmer • 6 Källström • 8 Juninho • 9 Fred • 10 Benzema • 11 Grosso • 14 Govou • 18 Ben Arfa • 19 Delgado • 20 Réveillère • 21 Crosas • 22 Anderson • 23 Keita • 24 Beynié • 25 Hartock • 27 Mounier • 28 Toulalan • 29 Squillaci • 30 Vercoutre • 32 Boumsong • 33 Charvet • 35 Roux • Manager: Perrin