Júlio César (footballer, born 1978)
 César during a game with Olympiacos | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Júlio César Santos Correa | ||
| Date of birth | 18 November 1978 | ||
| Place of birth | São Luís, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1995–1996 | Marathón | 22 | (2) |
| 1996–1999 | Valladolid | 60 | (4) |
| 1999–2001 | Real Madrid | 21 | (0) |
| 2000 | → Milan (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2000–2001 | → Real Sociedad (loan) | 16 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | → Benfica (loan) | 20 | (3) |
| 2002–2003 | Austria Wien | 9 | (1) |
| 2003–2004 | Valladolid | 28 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | Bolton Wanderers | 5 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | Tigres | 29 | (4) |
| 2006–2008 | Olympiacos | 41 | (7) |
| 2008 | Dinamo Bucureşti | 8 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Gaziantepspor | 31 | (1) |
| 2010 | Marítimo | 0 | (0) |
| 2011–2012 | Sporting Kansas City | 54 | (3) |
| 2013 | Toronto FC | 0 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 24 October 2012. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Júlio César Santos Correa, known as Júlio César (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʒulju ˈsɛzɐʁ]; born 18 November 1978), is a Brazilian footballer.
Football career
Early years
Júlio César made his professional debuts in Honduras, with C.D. Marathón, but signed at the age of only 17 with La Liga side Real Valladolid. He immediately began playing regularly (25 matches in his first season, with his team ranking seventh and qualifying for the UEFA Cup), soon attracting interest from bigger clubs.
Real Madrid
In the 1999 summer, Júlio César was bought by Spanish giants Real Madrid, appearing regularly in his first year, in a team which also included as centre-backs the established Fernando Hierro, Iván Helguera and Aitor Karanka, as well as Iván Campo. He helped the capital side to the season's UEFA Champions League, although he did not make the list of 18 for the final itself.
Initially loaned to A.C. Milan in the 2000 summer, César quickly left the Italian club, unsettled, after which he returned to Spain, with Real Sociedad, also on loan. The following summer, he joined S.L. Benfica on loan, returning in 2002.
Bolton
After an one-year spell – already released by the Merengues – with FK Austria Wien, Júlio César returned to his main club, Valladolid, again being a starter, but seeing the Castile and León side be relegated to the second division.
He then moved to England and the Premier League, where he joined Bolton Wanderers, his debut coming in a 4–1 victory over Charlton Athletic. However, after the next game, a 0–2 defeat to Fulham, he found himself dropped from the starting line-up in favour of Tunisian international Radhi Jaïdi.
The rest of the 2004–05 season saw Júlio César appear intermittently in the Bolton team. A broken foot sustained against Manchester United at Old Trafford, on Boxing Day, did not help his chances of re-gaining a regular first team berth.
His transfer from Valladolid to Bolton in July 2004 is one of those about which the Stevens enquiry report in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the apparent conflict of interest between agent Craig Allardyce, his father Sam Allardyce – club manager – and the club itself.[1]
Professional journeyman
Júlio César was signed by Tigres de la UANL in 2005, and quickly became a key in the club's defense in both the domestic league and the Copa Libertadores. Notably, he participated with one goal in the match dubbed "Aztecazo", a 4–1 turn-around win against Club América after a 1–3 home loss, for the 2005 Apertura.
In July 2006, César joined Olympiacos F.C. of Greece. He managed to stay at the club for two seasons, always as first-choice, adding seven goals as the Athens side won back-to-back national leagues. Subsequently, he signed with Romanian side FC Dinamo Bucureşti, where he vastly underperformed, being released in December 2008.
On 28 January 2009, Júlio César signed a one 1/2-year deal with Turkish club Gaziantepspor. Before he agreed with his new club, he spoke with former Real Madrid teammate Roberto Carlos, then at Fenerbahçe, asking for information about the Turkish League.[2]
Sporting Kansas City
On 14 March 2011, after only a few weeks in Portugal with C.S. Marítimo, 32-year old César signed for Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City.[3] The terms of the contract were unknown, but general manager Peter Vermes stated that the seasoned veteran would be "a very nice addition to the back line this season".[4]
César was released by Kansas City on 19 November 2012.[5]
Toronto FC
After his release from Kansas City, César signed with Toronto FC on 14 January 2013.[6] He was released without playing a single game on 29 March 2013.[7]
Honours
- Real Madrid
- Austria Wien
- Austrian League: 2002–03
- Austrian Cup: 2002–03
- Tigres
- InterLiga: 2006
- Olympiacos
- Greek League: 2006–07, 2007–08
- Greek Super Cup: 2007
- Sporting Kansas City
References
- ↑ "What Stevens said about each club". The Daily Telegraph. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2007.
- ↑ "Julio Cesar İmzaladı" (in Turkish). Gaziantepspor's website. 28 January 2009. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- ↑ "KC signs Brazilian defender Julio Cesar". Sporting Kansas City. 14 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
- ↑ "Sporting KC finally signs defender Julio Cesar". The Full 90's website. 13 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
- ↑ "Sporting Kansas City waives four players | Sporting Kansas City". Sportingkc.com. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ "Report: Toronto FC sign Brazilian Julio Cesar". CP24.com. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
- ↑ "Toronto FC releases veteran Brazilian MF Cesar". Tsn.ca. 29 March 2013. Retrieved 8 April 2013.