Júlio Baptista

Júlio César Baptista (born 1 October 1981 in São Paulo) is a football player from Brazil. Nicknamed la Bestia (the Beast) or the Tank, he plays as an attacking midfielder for Real Madrid.

Club career

Early career

Referred to as the "Beast of Sevilla" and even as the "Brazilian Steven Gerrard",^[1] Júlio Baptista began his professional career in 2000 as a defensive midfielder with São Paulo F.C..

Sevilla

On August 6, 2003 Sevilla FC unveiled Baptista to be their newest signing. He cost the Spanish club £1.75 million. Baptista made it clear he was confident that he will succeed in Spain^[2], donning the number 19 jersey Baptista began operating as an attacking midfielder. Baptista settled in quickly and was being touted as the signing of the season^[3]. Between 2003 and 2005 Baptista made 63 appearances for Sevilla and scored 38 goals in total.

Real Madrid

On July 25, 2005. Real Madrid confirmed the signing of the long-time Arsenal target. ^[4] It looked as if Arsenal were set to signed Baptista, after Sevilla president confirmed he'd received offers from the club. But Baptista revealed he opted for Real Madrid after revealing he was only a year away from receiving Spanish citizenship, which would enable him to travel across Europe freely. He also revealed that he didn't want to move to England. ^[5] The season looked very promising for Real Madrid, the big money signings of Robinho from Santos, Baptista from Sevilla and Sergio Ramos from Sevilla meant that Real Madrid were tipped to end their trophy drought, however it was not to be. At Real Madrid, 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 dissapointment 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 fulfill his contract with Real Madrid. ^[6]

Arsenal (Loan)

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.

Julio Baptista celebrates scoring a goal for Arsenal.

However, on August 31 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.^[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 January 9 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. Baptista made it known he wanted to make his tenure at Arsenal a permanent one^[8]. However Arsene Wenger decided against making his loan a permanent one after Real Madrid rejected the chance to sign José Antonio Reyes. In total, Baptista scored 10 goals in 35 appearances for Arsenal.

Return to Real Madrid

At the end of the 06-07 season, he was no longer required by Arsenal and returned to Real Madrid as the loan deal finished. Since the appointment of Bernd Schuster as head coach of Madrid, Baptista has played far more often and in the position he prefers to play in. Baptista's impressive performances continue to keep playmaker Guti on the bench. Julio 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 Nou Camp in 24 years.

International career

Baptista has 35 caps with Brazil, and has netted six goals, although three came in unofficial friendlies. His first cap came on 4 June 2001 in a 0-0 draw against Japan in the 2001 Confederations Cup, and he also played a limited part in the 2005 edition. As Baptista is often played out of position in Real Madrid, his form dipped and hence, not included on the 2006 World Cup roster. However, Baptista was re-called to the Brazil squad for the 2007 Copa America and scored the opening goal in Brazil's 3-0 victory over Argentina in the Final on July 15 2007. Baptista ended the competition with 3 goals. He has since found himself more of a regular fixture in the Brazil line up thanks to his performance at the Copa America.

Honours

• Campeonato Paulista: 2000
• São Paulo Cup (under 20s): 2000
• Rio–São Paulo Tournament: 2001
• São Paulo State Super-Championship: 2002
• Copa América: 2004, 2007
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005

Career statistics

(correct as of 19 December2007)

Quotes

• "Technically, he brings the quality of a Brazilian player but he also brings his personality: he is very strong, very strong-willed. He is a winner, He can defend, he can attack and he can score goals and this is very important." —Dunga^[10]

References

External links

• Arsenal.com profile
• Júlio Baptista career stats at Soccerbase.com
• Júlio Baptista player information, honours, detailed career stats and timeline
• Profile - SambaFoot.com