Júlio Baptista

Julio Baptista
Julio Baptista.jpg
Personal information
Full name Júlio César Clemente Baptista
Date of birth October 1, 1981 (1981-10-01) (age 29)
Place of birth São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position Attacking Midfielder, striker
Club information
Current club A.S. Roma
Number 19
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2003 São Paulo FC 74 (10)
2003–2005 Sevilla FC 62 (39)
2005–2008 Real Madrid C.F. 58 (11)
2006–2007 → Arsenal F.C. 24 (3)
2008- A.S. Roma 49 (12)
National team‡
2003 Brazil U 20 5 (3)
2001– Brazil 47 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 9, 2010.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of June 28, 2010

Júlio César Baptista (born 1 October 1981) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for the Italian team A.S. Roma as an attacking midfielder. Baptista is often nicknamed "The Beast" due to his physique.

Baptista began his career as a defensive midfielder and after a series of impressive performances for his home town squad, São Paulo, Baptista signed for Sevilla in 2003. Upon signing for Sevilla, he was converted into an attacking midfielder and in his two seasons at the squad he scored 50 goals, leading to his 2005 transfer to Spanish giants, Real Madrid. After two unsuccessful seasons at Real Madrid and a loan spell at Arsenal sandwiched in between, Baptista transferred to Italian team A.S. Roma, where he currently plays. He also appears regularly for his national team.

Contents

Club career

Sevilla

On 3 August 2003, Sevilla unveiled Baptista to be their newest signing. He cost the Spanish club £1.75 million ($3.75 million). Baptista made it clear he was confident that he will succeed in Spain,[1] donning the number 19 jersey Baptista, and beginning operation as an attacking midfielder. Baptista settled in quickly bagging a double in Sevilla's 4–0 victory over Racing de Santander.[2] As the season progressed, his good form continued, including a double against Levante and once more hitting the back of the net against Racing de Santander, this time with four goals as Sevilla picked up a 5–2 victory at home.

His form attracted the attention of several big name clubs, but despite interest from English giants Arsenal, Baptista remained at Sevilla for the following season, in which he once more showed his worth registering 25 goals in all competitions.[3]

Between 2003 and 2005, Baptista made 81 appearances (in all competitions) for Sevilla and scored 50 goals in total, a terrific return that began a summer of transfer rumours in which Real Madrid battled it out with Arsenal for his signature.

Real Madrid

On 25 July 2005, Real Madrid confirmed the signing of the long-time Arsenal target for a fee of £13.8 million (€20 million), rising to £16.9 million (€24.5 million); Baptista signed a five-year deal.[4] Baptista opted to remain in Spain for at least a further year, by transferring to Real Madrid to gain Spanish citizenship, which would enable him to travel across Europe freely. He also explained he did not want to move to England at this time.[5] Upon his arrival at Real Madrid, Baptista was awarded the number 8 jersey.

The season looked very promising for Real Madrid, the big money signings of Robinho from Santos and Baptista and Sergio Ramos from Sevilla meant that Real Madrid were tipped to end their trophy drought. However, it was not to be. At Real, Baptista was often played out of position as a left-winger to accommodate the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Guti in the Spanish side's attacking line-up. For this reason, he was unable to find the form that led many of Europe's top clubs to sign him. He managed to score just eight league goals throughout the 2006 league campaign. The season ended in disappointment as Real Madrid yet again ended the season without a trophy.

Baptista insisted that Arsenal were still in pursuit of him, but he made it clear he wanted to fulfil his contract with Real Madrid.

Arsenal

At the end of August 2006, with the transfer window about to close, press reports linked him with a move to either Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal, with the latter possibly as part of a swap deal including José Antonio Reyes; Baptista himself had strenuously claimed that he was not interested in a move away from Real Madrid. However, on 31 August 2006, the day of the transfer deadline, Baptista moved to Arsenal in exchange for José Antonio Reyes, the deal involved the two players swapping clubs on 12 month loan deals.[6] He scored his first goal for Arsenal against Hamburg in the Champions League on 21 November 2006.[7]

Baptista struggled to score in the Premier League, managing just three goals in 24 league matches. However, Baptista found scoring form in the League Cup, with six goals in the competition, including a club record four goals in Arsenal's quarter-final victory against Liverpool on 9 January 2007, in a 6–3 win for Arsenal; beside his four goals, he also missed a penalty kick. Baptista also scored twice in Arsenal's semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur (having also scored an own goal at the other end), but they lost 2–1 to Chelsea in the final.

In total, Baptista scored 10 goals in 35 appearances for Arsenal.

Return to Real Madrid

At the end of the 2006–07 season, he was no longer required by Arsenal and returned to Real Madrid, as the loan deal finished. After the appointment of Bernd Schuster as head coach of Madrid, Baptista played far more often and in the position he preferred to play in.

Baptista scored his first Champions League goal of the season against Lazio. Baptista then preceded to score his second league goal of the campaign, bagging a magnificent first half goal off a one-two pass from Ruud van Nistelrooy in El Clasico against Barcelona. His goal proved to be vital as it was the only goal in a game that finished 1–0. This was only the second time Real Madrid had beaten rivals Barcelona at the Camp Nou in 24 years.

During the season, Baptista continued his good form. This led to many praising his good performances as he continued to keep Guti on the bench.[8] However, towards the end of the campaign, he lost his place in the squad, leading to another summer of speculation regarding his future.

Roma

Roma ended their search for another forward on 14 August, when they signed Baptista from Real Madrid. The Serie A club said in a statement that the 26-year-old had cost an initial €9 million (£7.1 million) and had penned a four-year deal.[9]

Baptista made his debut for Roma in the Supercoppa Italiana on 25 August 2008, but lost to Internazionale on penalties. Baptista converted his penalty kick. On 1 October 2008, he scored his first Champions League goals for the club, after scoring a double against Bordeaux to give a 3–1 victory to his side. Baptista scored Roma's winning goal in the his first Roma derby against Lazio.

In the Champions League, Roma drew Baptista's former club, Arsenal. He played in both games, the first at the Emirates Stadium, a ground he used to call home and the return leg at the Stadio Olimpico. In the return leg, Baptista came on as an early substitute, following the early injury to Roma's goalscorer Juan. Baptista had a couple of chances to give Roma the two goal advantage that would have sent them through to the quarter-final stage of the Champions League, most notably a chance in the 79th minute, where he missed from 10 yards out with just Manuel Almunia to beat. Roma lost 7–6 in the ensuing penalty shootout.

International career

Baptista has 46 caps with Brazil, and has netted 5 goals.[10] His first cap came on 4 June 2001 in a 0–0 draw against Japan in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, and he also played a limited part in the 2005 edition.

As Baptista was often played out of position at Real Madrid, his form dipped and hence, he was not included on the 2006 World Cup roster. However, Baptista was re-called to the Brazil squad for the Copa América 2007 and scored the opening goal in Brazil's 3–0 victory over Argentina in the final on 15 July 2007. Baptista ended the competition with three goals. He has since found himself more of a regular fixture in the Brazil line up, thanks to his performance at the Copa América.

Honours

Real Madrid

Brazil

Career statistics

(correct as of 14 May 2009)

Club Season League Cup[11] Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Sao Paulo 2000 14 0 0 0 - - 14 0
2001 24 4 0 0 - - 24 4
2002 21 3 0 0 0 0 20 3
2003 15 3 0 0 0 0 15 3
Sevilla 2003–04 30 20 8 5 - - 38 25
2004–05 32 19 4 2 8 5 44 25
Real Madrid 2005–06 32 8 - - 7 0 39 8
Arsenal (loan) 2006–07 24 3 7 6 4 1 35 10
Real Madrid 2007–08 26 3 1 2 3 5 31 10
Roma 2008–09 27 9 2 0 7 2 36 11
2009–10 22 3 1 1 4 0 27 4
Career totals 258 72 314 100

International statistics

As of July 2, 2010.[12][13][14][15][16][17]
National team Club Season Apps Goals
Brazil São Paulo 2001 2 0
2002 0 0
2003 5 0
Sevilla 2003–2004 6 0
2004–2005 4 0
Real Madrid 2005–2006 2 0
Arsenal 2006–2007 8 3
Real Madrid 2007–2008 9 0
Roma 2008–2009 5 1
2009–2010 6 1
Total 47 5

Quotes

References

  1. ↑ "Sevilla unveil Baptista". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11834_2272810,00.html. 
  2. ↑ "La Liga Round-Up". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11834_2283146,00.html. 
  3. ↑ "Brazilian in Premiership claim". Sky Sports. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11834_2290940,00.html. 
  4. ↑ "Real pip Arsenal to sign Baptista". BBC Sport. July 25, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/4714437.stm. Retrieved July 25, 2005. 
  5. ↑ "Baptista makes Arsenal admission". BBC Sport. August 1, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/4734325.stm. Retrieved August 1, 2005. 
  6. ↑ "José Antonio Reyes, new Real Madrid player.". Real Madrid. http://www.realmadrid.com//articulo/rma33346.htm. 
  7. ↑ "Arsenal 3-1 Hamburg". BBC. 21 November 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/6160894.stm. Retrieved 13 August 2010. 
  8. ↑ "Baptista: I'm Not Ronaldinho, But I Play Well, Too.". Goal.com. http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=513475. 
  9. ↑ "Soccer — Roma sign Brazil's Baptista from Real Madrid. Later Menez Joined Roma from Monaco as another forward.". Reuters. http://uk.reuters.com/article/worldFootballNews/idUKLC52719620080814. 
  10. ↑ Brazil – Record International Players
  11. ↑ Includes Supercoppa Italiana, FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield
  12. ↑ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2000–2001
  13. ↑ Seleção Brasileira Restritiva (Brazilian National Restrictive Team) 2000–2003
  14. ↑ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2002–2003
  15. ↑ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2004–2005
  16. ↑ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2006–2007
  17. ↑ Seleção Brasileira (Brazilian National Team) 2008–2009
  18. ↑ "Júlio Baptista ready to commit future to Gunners". Yahoo Sports. http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=afp-fblengprbraarsenalbaptista&prov=afp&type=lgns. 

External links

A.S. Roma – current squad

1 Lobonţ · 2 Cicinho · 3 Castellini · 4 Juan · 5 Mexès · 7 Pizarro · 8 Adriano · 9 Vučinić · 10 Totti (c) · 11 Taddei · 13 Antunes · 15 Loria · 16 De Rossi · 17 Riise · 19 Júlio Baptista · 20 Perrotta · 22 Borriello · 23 Greco · 25 G. Burdisso · 27 Júlio Sérgio · 29 N. Burdisso · 30 Simplício · 32 Doni · 33 Brighi · 77 Cassetti · 87 Rosi · 89 Okaka · 94 Menez · Coach: Ranieri