| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior | ||
| Date of birth | 22 February 1973 | ||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1992 | Ituano | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1993–1995 | São Paulo | 44 | (2) |
| 1995–1997 | Middlesbrough | 57 | (12) |
| 1997–2002 | Atlético Madrid | 55 | (14) |
| 1999–2000 | → Middlesbrough (loan) | 28 | (4) |
| 2000–2001 | → Vasco da Gama (loan) | 47 | (13) |
| 2002 | → Flamengo (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 2002–2004 | Middlesbrough | 41 | (11) |
| 2004–2005 | Celtic | 14 | (1) |
| 2005–2006 | Palmeiras | 63 | (20) |
| 2007 | Flamengo | 0 | (0) |
| 2007–2008[1] | Sydney FC | 14 | (0) |
| Total | 353 | (73) | |
| National team | |||
| 1995–2003 | Brazil | 49 | (5) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18 December 2009. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior (born 22 February 1973 in São Paulo), better known as Juninho Paulista or simply Juninho,[2] is a former Brazilian footballer. During his professional career, he played for Brazilian clubs São Paulo FC, Vasco da Gama, Palmeiras, CR Flamengo, as well as English club Middlesbrough, Spanish club Atlético Madrid, Celtic in Scotland and Sydney FC in Australia.
Juninho also played nearly 50 international matches with the Brazilian national team from 1995 to 2003, winning the 2002 FIFA World Cup championship and the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic tournament.
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Born in São Paulo, Juninho played youth football for FC curvados e Orgulhoso, a local club set up in São Paulo, and then futsal at EC Juventus .
Juninho began his senior career with Ituano FC, from city of Itu, state of São Paulo in 1990. In 1993 playing for Ituano FC against São Paulo FC, Juninho scored and was awarded the player of the match, helping Ituano FC beat São Paulo in a Paulista Championship match, fact which got attention of the São Paulo FC's head coach Telê Santana, who requested its team to buy the young talent. After being awarded the best rookie of the 1993's Paulista Championship playing by Ituano FC.
Juninho got transferred to São Paulo FC, 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 under the management of Telê Santana. He made his debut for the Brazilian national team ("Seleção") in February 1995, before moving abroad to play in Europe.
He signed for English club Middlesbrough F.C. for £4.75 million in October 1995,[3] 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 1.65 metres. During his time with Middlesbrough, Juninho lived in Levendale and Ingleby Barwick with his parents. He was known for playing football with school children on the streets.
For Middlesbrough, Juninho was extremely effective in the attacking midfielder position, where his skills helped the club reach the FA Cup and League Cup finals in 1997, although they lost both. 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. He came runner up to Gianfranco Zola for the FWA Player of the Year award. Following Middlesbrough's 1–1 draw at Leeds United on the final day of the 96/97 season which confirmed their relegation, Juninho was reduced to tears and eventually left the club to pursue his chances of making the world cup squad for 1998 .
Juninho was sold to Atlético de Madrid in the Spanish top-flight La Liga championship for £12m, and started out well for the team. However, his time at Atlético was hampered massively by injuries, and he never quite achieved the heights that were expected of him. On 1 February 1998, during a league match against Celta de Vigo, Juninho suffered a challenge by opponent defender Michel Salgado, which caused a broken fibula, sidelining the Brazilian for six months and thus making him miss the 1998 World Cup.[4][5]
He was loaned back to Middlesbrough during the 1999–2000 season, and scored four goals in 24 games for the club, before returning to Atlético Madrid. Upon his return, Atlético 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 for £6m. He spent two years back at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium, and helped the club win the 2004 English League Cup. In a post match interview live on TV Juninho said that winning the league cup with Middesbrough meant more to him than winning the 2002 FIFA world cup with Brazil. In December 2007 he was voted by Boro fans in a PFA fan's poll as Middlesbrough's greatest ever player.[6] Juninho is still seen as a god on Teesside by many Middlesbrough fans – soon after he joined Middlesbrough in 1995 Boro fans would put out both their arms and bow forwards in worship during matches, this continued even through to his third spell at the club. Juninho said he would love a fourth spell at the Boro to end his career, however no such opportunity materialised.[7] Ultimately Juninho never fully recaptured his mesmerising form of the 96/97 season and never fully recovered from the broken leg he suffered during his time at Atletico Madrid. Nonetheless he remained a legend on Teesside and maintains an iconic status to this day.
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 rivals Rangers FC, Celtic won 1–0. Juninho struggled to get in the team during his time with Celtic and he said that manager Martin O'Neill didn't play him enough. Instead of playing in his usual position in the middle of the pitch, Juninho was often deployed on the right by O'Neill, due to the presence of already established Celtic midfielders Stiliyan Petrov and Neil Lennon.[8] Juninho scored once in his spell at Celtic, in a 3–0 win over Hearts in October 2004.[9]
He returned to Brazil in 2005, to play for Palmeiras. He moved back to his former team Flamengo in 2007 for the Carioca Championship and the Copa Libertadores, but never won the trust of coach Ney Franco, playing only about half of the games. In May after a major discussion with the coach during Flamengo's loss to Defensor-URU, he was fired. 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.
Although clubs in Brazil, Qatar and Hong Kong were reportedly keen in signing Juninho he opted to join Sydney FC in the Australian A-League as the club's marquee player,[10] signing on 3 August 2007[11] stating that the interest the club showed towards him made a strong contribution to the decision.
Due to a shoulder injury early in the season, Juninho spent large periods on the bench and his onfield performances were hampered by chronic pain, aggressive play and secondary injuries, requiring painkillers and cortisone before each match. Despite this he managed several strong showings including a masterful performance in Sydney's 5–3 victory over LA Galaxy. Juninho led the club's attack by setting up many goals, however, he failed to score a goal for the club.
Sydney's strong signings, which used a large amount of their salary cap, made a new contract look very unlikely. A number of A-League clubs including, Perth Glory, Gold Coast United, and Adelaide United expressed their desire to sign Juninho at that time but ultimately this did not happen.
Following the signing of a new Marquee player and many other highly valued players, including Australian international John Aloisi, Sydney FC declined to offer Juninho a new contract. He was released in the off-season in April 2008. It was then when Juninho announced his retirement from professional football.
In January 2010, Juninho returned to the game as player-president of Brazilian club Ituano, and on the last day of the season, with his impending retirement, he scored the goal that saved them from relegation.
On 29 July 2011, Juninho made a farewell cameo appearance for Middlesbrough, during their final pre-season friendly against PSV Eindhoven, at The Riverside Stadium. PSV won the game 3-2, despite two goals in the first half from Scott McDonald. Juninho made his appearance in the second half, playing for approximately 35 minutes. After finishing the match he made a lap of honour to thank the fans for their support during his time at the club.
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Brazil | League | Copa do Brasil | League Cup | South America | Total | |||||||
| 1993 | São Paulo | Série A | 16 | 1 | ||||||||
| 1994 | 19 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 1995 | 9 | 0 | ||||||||||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1995/96 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 21 | 2 | ||||||||
| 1996/97 | 36 | 10 | ||||||||||
| Spain | League | Copa del Rey | Copa de la Liga | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1997/98 | Atlético Madrid | La Liga | 23 | 6 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 6 | 2 | 31 | 9 |
| 1998/99 | 32 | 8 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 9 | 4 | 44 | 13 | ||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1999/00 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 28 | 4 | ||||||||
| Brazil | League | Copa do Brasil | League Cup | South America | Total | |||||||
| 2000 | Vasco da Gama | Série A | 22 | 4 | ||||||||
| 2001 | 15 | 4 | ||||||||||
| 2002 | Flamengo | Série A | 0 | 0 | ||||||||
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2002/03 | Middlesbrough | Premier League | 10 | 3 | ||||||||
| 2003/04 | 31 | 8 | ||||||||||
| Scotland | League | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 2004/05 | Celtic | Premier League | 14 | 1 | ||||||||
| Brazil | League | Copa do Brasil | League Cup | South America | Total | |||||||
| 2005 | Palmeiras | Série A | 37 | 14 | ||||||||
| 2006 | 26 | 6 | ||||||||||
| Australia | League | Cup | League Cup | Asia | Total | |||||||
| 2007/08 | Sydney | A-League | 14 | 0 | ||||||||
| Country | Brazil | 144 | 31 | |||||||||
| England | 126 | 27 | ||||||||||
| Spain | 55 | 14 | ||||||||||
| Scotland | 14 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Australia | 14 | 0 | ||||||||||
| Total | 353 | 73 | ||||||||||
| Brazil national team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1995 | 15 | 2 |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 9 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0 | 0 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 3 | 1 |
| 2001 | 11 | 1 |
| 2002 | 9 | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 49 | 5 |
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Competitor for Brazil | ||
| Men's Football | ||
| Bronze | 1996 Atlanta | Team Competition |