Juninho Pernambucano

People who are into soccer definitely know Juninho Pernambucano, and he has become something of a household name in France. However, he is not a historic player, he is just a solid midfielder, unexceptional in most regards, except for the fact that he is the best freekicker of this generation of players.

Juninho is one of those players who I think will be remembered by those who followed the teams he played in (Brazil, Vasco, Lyon), and also everyone who has followed the French league over the past 5 years. He is certainly nowhere near the level where kids twenty years from now are going to be talking about him, or even know who he is. Nonetheless, those of us who have followed soccer over the past decade, who have watched him play, can certainly appreciate some of the amazing moments he has created.

As I had mentioned before, Juninho is an absolute monster at freekicks. He scores them all the time, from all over the place, with a deadly blend of accuracy and power. He also has an incredible work ethic, and the countless hours he has invested on the training pitch in practicing free kicks certainly shows. Obviously, he has a natural talent for them also. One of his most memorable free kicks was in a champions league match against Bayern Munich in Munich. It was a good 35m out and there was not a thing Kahn, one of the best goalkeepers in the world, could have done.

I also like the fact that Juninho found a great place for himself to put himself into history. Rather than go to a team like Milan, Barcelona, or other top-tier club, he went to Lyon and completely revolutionzied them. Prior to his arrival, in over 100 years of their history, they were unable to win a single championship. Upon his arrival, they have won 5 championships in a row, in a streak that is still going, as well as 5 consecutive French supercups (including the most recent one) and have been giving some impressive performances in the Champions League, consistently making it to the latter stages of the knockouts in recent years (including have knocked out Real Madrid in one season). Of course, Juninho hasnt been the only reason for Lyon’s recent successes, however he has certainly been a major catalyst and I would say the single most important factor.

Also, I’m sure all Winning Eleven players realize what a great free-kicker he is, he has the highest ever rating for free kicks, a perfect 99/99.

Anyway, on to some videos that I think demonstrate well what I have written:

• a well done compliation of Juninho (5:51 long)

(about a min long)

• training free kicks for the Brazilian national team prior to World Cup 2006

I hope you enjoy these videos. If you do, there are many more like it available on the internet,  especially on YouTube.
And finally, a link to the Wiki page, which does a good job of summarizing his career and contributions to the sport.

Explore posts in the same categories: Club, International, Players, Soccer, World cup 2006