Juninho Paulista

Juninho Paulista is one of the greatest legends in Middlesbrough history, he will have marked the Premier League by finishing best player of the 1996/97 season.

Trophies

150

Goals

664

Games

1993/95 São Paulo (BRE) 141 games, 22 goals

1995/97 Middlesbrough (ENG) 75 games, 15 goals

(English Premier League: 57 games, 12 goals)

(English Cup: 9 games, 2 goals)

(English League Cup: 9 games, 1 goal)

1997/2002 Atlético Madrid (ESP) 75 games, 22 goals

(Spanish Premier League: 55 games, 14 goals)

(Spanish Cup: 8 games, 2 goals)

(UEFA Cup: 15 games, 6 goals)

1999/2000 Middlesbrough (ENG) (Loan) 33 games, 5 goals

(English Premier League: English: 28 matches, 4 goals)

(English Cup: 1 match)

(English League Cup: 4 matches, 1 goal)

2000/01 Vasco de Gama (BRE) (Loan) 85 matches, 30 goals

2002 Flamengo (BRE) (Loan) 38 matches, 14 goals

2002/04 Middlesbrough (ENG) 48 matches, 12 goals

(English Premier League: 41 matches, 11 goals)

(English Cup: 1 match)

(English League Cup: 6 matches, 1 goal)

2004/05 Celtic Glasgow (ECO) 22 matches, 1 goal

(Scottish Premier League: 14 matches, 1 goal)

(Scottish Cup: 2 matches)

(League Cup Scottish: 2 matches)

(Champions League: 4 matches)

2005/06 Palmeiras (BRE) 66 matches, 20 goals

(Brazilian Championship: 63 matches, 20 goals)

(Copa Libertadores: 3 matches)

2007 Flamengo (BRE) 6 matches

(Copa Libertadores: 6 matches)

2007/08 Sydney FC (AUS) 14 matches

2010 Ituano FC (BRE) 11 matches, 4 goals

With the National Team :

50 caps, 5 goals

(Friendly matches: 23 caps, 4 goals)

(World Cup qualifiers: 9 caps, 1 goal)

(World Cup: 5 caps)

(Copa America: 9 caps)

(Confederations Cup: 4 caps)

1st cap: 22 February 1995 against Slovakia (5-0)

Last cap: 12 October 2003 against Jamaica (1-0)

Unofficial: 4 caps, 2 goals

Olympic: 6 caps, 1 goal

Osvaldo Giroldo Júnior "Juninho Paulista"

Born February 22, 1973 in São Paulo (BRE)

Brazilian, Attacking-Midfielder, Left-Midfielder, Central-Midfielder 1m68

Nickname: "Little Fella"

An injustice linked to his body

Juninho Paulista was born on February 22, 1973 in São Paulo, Brazil. From a young age he was described as a very talented player and his future already seemed all mapped out towards the highest level. However, when he began to become a teenager, the player's growth stopped at 1m68, a characteristic that cooled many scouts who dropped the player despite his enormous talent.

Quite thin and small, he was rejected by Clube Atlético Juventus then Corinthians when he was around 13 years old. No matter his talent, scouts thought he would not be able to adapt to modern football because of his physique. But Juninho and his family did not give up and he continued to train to become better, with his family, he moved to Itu, and Juninho joined the local youth team of Ituano FC.

A surprise transfer to England

At 18, he joined the club's first team and played in the São Paulo championship with his modest team. The player then aimed to be spotted by a bigger team, with Juninho, the club finished in 7th place and Juninho scored 10 goals.

In 1993, he finally joined the São Paulo FC team. In a team that had just beaten FC Barcelona in the Intercontinental Cup, the player gradually established himself in the squad as a starter. For his first season, he won the title of best rookie of the year for the club. He had 2 great years with São Paulo where he won an impressive number of trophies, 6 trophies.

He logically tasted his first selection with the Brazilian national team, a first in a long series. With an UMBRO tournament, the player was recruited by Middlesbrough for 4.75 million pounds sterling.

The Brazilian loyal to Middlesbrough

For his first match with the English club, he only took 11 minutes to deliver his first assist. In a championship described as rough, the little Brazilian made a very good debut and established himself as one of the best players in the league.

Playmaker of the team, he was a technical leader and an often underestimated player. With his Brazilian virtuoso, the modest English club finished in 12th place in the ranking. While the team had strengthened and the future seemed bright, the club would experience a descent into hell.

Despite two excellent runs in the English League Cup and the FA Cup, with two lost finals, the club sank in the Premier League and finished in 19th place in the ranking, which is synonymous with relegation. Yet Juninho Paulista will have undoubtedly had one of the best seasons of his career as an individual, finishing best player in the Premier League despite relegation, an extremely rare and surprising fact. The player was simply too good for Middlesbrough.

He was finally sold to Atlético Madrid for 14 million pounds Sterling at the end of the season, the Brazilian had a very encouraging first half of the season but suffered a fibula injury which ended it.

He who was a starter/substitute with Brazil then missed the 1998 World Cup and lost his place in Spain, he then returned to Middlesbrough on loan who had returned to the Premier League and had an anecdotal season. He followed this with a loan to Brazil where he found his form, in 85 matches, he scored 30 goals, enough to allow him to keep his place in the Brazilian national team but also to finish in the South American team of the year in 2000 and 2001.

A starter with Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, he won the competition and returned once again to Middlesbrough, a club he loved deeply. He had also had offers from big clubs at the time.

A disappointing end to a career

Unfortunately, the player would again suffer a terrible injury, a rupture of the cruciate ligaments which deprived him of football for more than 6 months. For his last season at the club, he would end the adventure in the best possible way by winning the English League Cup in 2004. He also considers this trophy as the one he is most proud of in his entire career. Proof of the love he had for the English club.

Subsequently, the player would go on to Scotland, Australia and Brazil before ending his career at the age of 37 after a final stint at his training club Ituano FC. In total, he had a great career with Brazil, 50 matches, 5 goals and 12 assists.