| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Júlio César Soares de Espíndola | ||
| Date of birth | 3 September 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Duque de Caxias, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Internazionale | ||
| Number | 1 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Grajau CC | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1998–2004 | Flamengo | 130 | (0) |
| 2005 | Chievo | 0 | (0) |
| 2005– | Internazionale | 209 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 May 2011. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Júlio César Soares de Espíndola (born 3 September 1979), commonly known as simply Júlio César, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Internazionale of the Italian Serie A. He is also currently the first-choice goalkeeper for the Brazilian national team, having won 63 international caps.
In 2009, IFFHS named him as the third best goalkeeper in the world, behind only Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon.[1] He has also been awarded the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year title in 2009 and in 2010.[2] He was nominated for the 2009 Ballon d'Or and was voted into 21st place; Casillas was the only other goalkeeper nominated.[3]
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Júlio César began his professional career with Clube de Regatas do Flamengo in 1997 as the understudy to veteran Clemer. By 2000, he was the Rubro-Negro's undisputed first choice goalkeeper and went on to win the Campeonato Carioca four times. His impressive form culminated in him being named as Brazil's first choice goalkeeper for the 2004 Copa América. During his time with Flamengo he became a fan favourite due to his love for the club and talent between the sticks.
He was signed on a free transfer by Chievo Verona in January 2005, although it was widely speculated that this would be a temporary move before a transfer to Serie A powerhouse Inter.[4]
Serie A rules which impose a quota on the number of non-EU players clubs can sign from abroad, Júlio César was initially registered to Chievo.[5] During his six months in Verona, he was down the goalkeeping picking order, with Luca Marchegiani as first-choice, and failed to make an appearance. Despite his lack of club action, he was regularly named in the Brazilian national team squad.
In July 2005, he officially signed a three-year contract with Internazionale.[6]
He joined up with the Inter squad for the 2005–06 season and was expected to be second choice goalkeeper behind Francesco Toldo. His first game for the team was spent on the bench as Inter won the Supercoppa Italiana. He soon established himself ahead of Toldo, however, as the team's first choice, as Inter went on to finish third in Serie A, behind only Juventus and city rivals Milan, but were later awarded the title due to the sanctions imposed following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
In July 2009, Júlio César was chosen by ESPN Brasil as the best player of the 2008–09 season. He also received the Prêmio Futebol no Mundo (Football in the World Award).[7]
In November 2009, he signed a contract with Inter which will last until 2014, adding two more years to his contract.[8] His impressive form for the Nerazzuri has earned him praise from former Inter and Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, who stated his belief that Júlio César is the best goalkeeper in the world.[9] He has also earned praise from Italy legend Dino Zoff and team-mate Francesco Toldo.[10][11] On 24 January 2010, Julio Cesar made a crucial penalty save from Brazilian teammate Ronaldinho, as a nine-man Inter squad won 2–0 against Milan in a traditional Derby della Madonnina match.He has been named Serie A goalkeeper of the year in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Júlio César's international career began in 2003, when he was often called up as a backup to Dida. He was also included in Brazil team for the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, but did not play. His first international appearance came during the Copa América 2004. He played in all six matches in the tournament as first-choice goalkeeper, as Dida chose to sit out the tournament. In the final match against Argentina, which went on to be decided by penalty shootout, Júlio César blocked Argentina's first penalty kick and Brazil went on to win 4–2.
However, Júlio still was the backup goalkeeper for Brazil for the next three years, earning only seven caps in the period. He was left out of Brazil team for 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and Copa América 2007, but was included in 2006 FIFA World Cup squad as third-choice goalkeeper behind Dida and veteran Rogério Ceni.
After the World Cup and the international retirement of Dida, the competition to become Brazil's new first-choice goalkeeper began. He initially was out of favour, as new coach Dunga preferred Heurelho Gomes of Tottenham Hotspur, Helton of FC Porto, and Doni of Roma ahead of him. He forced his way into the team, however, and finally replaced Doni as first-choice goalkeeper in September 2007.
Julio Cesar's next international tournament was 2009 Confederations Cup. The tournament was won by Brazil, who retained the trophy they won in 2005 by defeating the United States 3–2 in the final.
He was named in Coach Dunga's final squad of 23 for the Brazilian squad in South Africa for the 2010 World Cup. This was his second World Cup. In the quarter-finals Holland won 2–1 over Brazil with Wesley Sneijder scoring two goals, and Brazil were ultimately eliminated from the tournament. Julio Cesar was heavily criticised for his performance in this match, following a goalkeeping blunder that resulted in the first goal for Holland, providing them with the momentum to go on and win the match. Cesar came off his line to intercept a cross from Sneijder, but uncharacteristically missed the ball (shared blame with Felipe Melo), allowing the cross to pass into the goal without touch from Cesar.
| Club | League | Cup[13] | Continental[14] | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Flamengo | 1997 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 26 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 21 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 37 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 34 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
| Total | 130 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 163 | 0 | |
| Chievo | 2004–05 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Internazionale | 2005–06 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 38 | 0 | |
| 2007–08 | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| 2008–09 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 43 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | 38 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 55 | 0 | |
| 2010–11 | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 37 | 0 | |
| Total | 194 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 259 | 0 | |
| Career totals | 324 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 56 | 0 | 422 | 0 | |
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César is married to Brazilian model and actress Susana Werner. Together, they have two children; Cauet, born in 2002, and Giulia, born in 2005. He is sponsored by Asics.[18] In 2010 Julio Cesar was involved in a car crash when he lost control of his Lamborghini.
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