Júlio Baptista life and biography

Júlio César Baptista (born 1 October 1981) is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for A.S. Roma as an attacking midfielder. Baptista is often nicknamed "The Beast" or "The Tank" 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, Brazil.

Julio Baptista rose up from the lower ranks of Sao Paulo, and took his first steps as an offensive midfielder. He went to Sevilla without much fanfare for the sum of 3 million dollars, and there he started to prosper in a more attacking position.

The main culprit for this major change was coach Joaquin Caparros, who made a striker out of him. Baptista scored 20 goals in the first season and 18 in the second one as big clubs started keeping an eye on him. Soon, Real Madrid paid 25 million euros to add him to their squad.

However, he was unable to play at the Bernabeu. He played in different positions, had no continuity, and after an irregular season was loaned to England's Arsenal. He came back to Madrid for 2006-7 to win a Liga title, and then was transferred to Italy's Roma. With the national team he has won two Copa Americas and two Confederation Cups and become a vital player in Dunga's team.

Strengths: A multifunctional attacking player.
Weaknesses: Has often suffered crises of confidence.

Career high: Scored the winning goal for Real in an El Clasico derby withBarcelona at Camp Nou.
Career low: His first few months in Arsenal were spent on the sidelines.

Style: Powerful player with a strong engine, with plenty of determination

Trivia: Plays golf, studies English and practices chess.

Quotes: "Playing in England is completely different to everything I was accustomed to. I've had to adapt to it, and that has made me grow", On his stint at Arsenal.

Soccernet says: He is an important player in Dunga´s system, because he offers several options both in midfield and defence.

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