35 Facts About Juninho Pernambucano

Juninho Pernambucano began his professional career in 1993 with Brazilian club Sport do Recife.

Juninho Pernambucano represented Brazil at the 2001 Copa America and was part of the squad which won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup before retiring from international football after the 2006 World Cup.

From 2013 to 2018, Juninho Pernambucano was a football commentator for Brazilian sports network Rede Globo.

Juninho Pernambucano was one of my inspirations, and the first player I had ever seen hit the ball head on and make it dance in the air.

Juninho Pernambucano won several trophies during his first stint with the club, including the Brazilian Championship in 1997 and 2000, the Copa Libertadores in 1998, the Copa Mercosur in 2000, as well as the 2000 Brazilian Silver Ball award as one of the best Brazilian midfielders of the season.

Juninho Pernambucano has been cited in a classic chorus sung by the fans remembering his free-kick goal against River Plate at River Plate Stadium, during the 1998 Libertadores which helped the club reach the finals against Barcelona de Guayaquil, which they won.

Juninho Pernambucano played 295 games for Vasco from 1995 to 2001.

In 2001, Juninho Pernambucano moved abroad to play for French club Olympique Lyonnais.

At Lyon, Juninho Pernambucano made himself especially noted for his accurate, powerful and varied set pieces.

Juninho Pernambucano scored his 100th goal on his last game for Lyon, through a penalty kick against Caen.

Juninho Pernambucano was a prolific goalscorer in the Champions League, and he matched Sonny Anderson as the club's top goalscorer in European competitions with 16 goals, on a match against Steaua Bucharest in November 2008.

Juninho Pernambucano later became Lyon's top goalscorer in the Champions League with 18 goals, while reaching three quarter-finals in the competition.

Juninho Pernambucano finished the season with Player of the Year honours from the Qatar Football Association.

Juninho Pernambucano played 66 games for Al-Gharafa and scored 25 goals.

On 27 April 2011, Juninho Pernambucano rejoined his former club Vasco da Gama.

Juninho Pernambucano scored his first goal for them in his first game back, via a freekick against Corinthians.

Juninho Pernambucano scored another 2 free kicks and a penalty during the course of the Brazilian top flight season.

Juninho Pernambucano then scored a trademark free kick against Esporte Clube Bahia in the fourth round of the Campeonato Brasileiro; that goal was to be his 16th since returning to Vasco from Al-Gharafa.

In July 2012, Juninho Pernambucano extended his contract with Vasco for 6 months.

On 17 December 2012, Juninho Pernambucano signed for Major League Soccer team New York Red Bulls.

Juninho Pernambucano made his first appearance for the team on a friendly match against Malmo, in which he was a starter.

Juninho Pernambucano scored his first home goal of the season against Criciuma with a 32-metre free kick, assisting Edmilson for the third goal of the game.

Juninho Pernambucano played his sixth game against Gremio and made another assist.

Juninho Pernambucano played 16 games for Vasco in his third stint with the club, scoring 2 goals and making 7 assists in the Campeonato Brasileiro.

Juninho Pernambucano retired from playing professional football on 2 February 2014.

Juninho Pernambucano played in 393 games in total for the club, scoring 76 goals.

On 7 September 1999, Juninho Pernambucano played two top-level matches in two different countries in the same day.

Juninho Pernambucano took part at the 2001 Copa America with Brazil.

Juninho Pernambucano was however a member of the Brazil squad that won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

In May 2019, Juninho Pernambucano was appointed as the director of football of his former club Olympique Lyonnais.

Juninho Pernambucano has been described as "one of the world's most feared strikers of a static ball".

Juninho Pernambucano has scored memorable free kick goals for Brazil, the most famous being a curling shot from 30 yards against Greece in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

In total, Juninho Pernambucano scored at least 75 goals from direct free kicks throughout his professional football career, which spanned from 1993 to 2013.

Juninho Pernambucano was gifted with good technical ability and intelligence, as well as excellent vision and passing range, and powerful and accurate striking ability from distance; furthermore, he drew praise in the media for his tenacity, work-rate, composure under pressure, strong character, and leadership, which saw him serve as club captain both at Lyon and Al-Gharafa.

Juninho Pernambucano is one of the few footballers to publicly speak out against racism in the country, as well as criticize Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president of Brazil that assumed office on 1 January 2019.