Júlio César Soares Espíndola

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Júlio César
Personal information
Full name Júlio César Soares Espíndola
Date of birth October 7, 1979
Place of birth Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.86m (6'1")
Position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Inter
Number 12
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
1998-2004
2005
2005-present
Flamengo
Chievo Verona
Inter
128 (0)
0 (0)
29 (0)
National team
2004-present Brazil 11 (0)

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.

Júlio César Soares Espíndola (born September 3, 1979), commonly known as Júlio César, is a Brazilian footballer who plays goalkeeper for F.C. Internazionale Milano. He was born in Rio de Janeiro and played for the local team Flamengo for 6 years. He started playing indoor football at Grajau Country Club, a local club situated in Grajau (a suburb in Rio de Janeiro), where he spent most of his childhood. He was snapped up by Internazionale and then promptly loaned to Chievo Verona for the 2004-05 season due to the fact that Inter had reached their limit of non-EU players allowed on the roster. In his six months with Chievo, Júlio César did not make a single appearance for Chievo.

In August 2005, he formally joined Internazionale after signing a 3-year-deal. He replaced incumbent Francesco Toldo as first choice goalkeeper for a series of summer friendlies and turned in a series of impressive performances, cementing his starting position between the posts for the season. However, a late-season combination of a slip in form and Toldo inking a contract extension temporarily sent him back to the bench, but he soon regained his #1 spot again as the Serie A season drew to a close.

Júlio César has been capped 11 times for the Brazilian National Team, and won the 2004 Copa América. He was called up as the third-choice goalkeeper for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, but did not receive any playing time in five games.

He is married to Brazilian model/actress Susana Werner, who was once engaged to Ronaldo in the late 1990s.

Brazil Brazil squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists Brazil

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

F.C. Internazionale Milano - Current Squad

1 Toldo | 2 Córdoba | 4 Zanetti | 5 Stanković | 6 Maxwell | 7 Figo | 8 Ibrahimović | 9 Cruz | 10 Adriano | 11 Grosso | 12 Júlio César | 13 Maicon | 14 Vieira | 15 Dacourt | 16 Burdisso | 17 Coco | 18 Crespo | 19 Cambiasso | 20 Recoba | 21 Solari | 22 Orlandoni | 23 Materazzi | 25 Samuel | 36 Fautario | 50 Maaroufi | 51 Bonucci | 52 Belaid | 57 Filkor | 61 Slavkovski | 77 Andreolli | 79 Carini | 91 González | 99 Choutos | Coach Mancini