Julio Cesar

At 44 years old, Julio Cesar has this physical status:

Club career

In 1997, Jlio César began his career as a member of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo. On May 17th in a match against Fluminense where he saved a penalty kick but it wasn't enough as the team lost 2–0. He was Clemer understudy from 1997 to 2000, but he gained his experience on goal during Copa Jove.

Jlio César's on-goal earned him his first call-up to the Brazil senior squad in 2002, as well as assisting Flamengo in escaping relegation in 2001, 2002, and 2004. The team's second match of 2001 Campeonato Carioca final against Vasco da Gama was his best match for the team, with some outstanding saves. Following the match, he interrupted a live interview with Beto to announce a salute to Vasco da Gama president Eurico Miranda, who, according to him, had already reserved the party in Basque.

Jlio César became embroiled in a controversy after losing to Fluminense in 2003. With Flamengo trailing 4–0, César, who made a save, dropped the ball on the ground and started playing with the feet, dribbling several players until Zé Carlos took the ball. Evaristo de Macedo, the team's coach, had sluggish comments about his behavior, calling him a "idiot." "Fluminense was giving us the runaround, and I was feeling helpless," César said. "I overdid it because I was sad and hurt, but I had already apologized on Saturday."

He joined the club in 2005 and has made 285 appearances for the club in all competitions. He was the third goalkeeper for the club with the most appearances, behind only Cantarele (577) and Zé Carlos (332).

In January 2005, he moved to Chievo, Italy's Serie A team. Jlio César could not join Inter Milan at the time and was first registered to Chievo under a joint agreement between the two clubs due to Serie A rules that place a cap on the number of non-EU players clubs could sign from abroad, and was first registered to Chievo.

Jlio César announced in July 2005 that he had signed a three-year deal with Inter after a juggling deal between Chievo and Inter. Inter €2.45 million was agreed on the agreement.

In the 2–0 victory at RSC Olimpiyskiy, Jlio César was given squad number 12 and made his official debut on August 10th in the first leg of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round versus Shakhtar Donetsk, defeating Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg. He captured his first silverware with the club ten days later, against Juventus in the Supercopa Italiana; he was on the bench. César made his Serie A debut against Treviso on August 28th, providing a solid result and keeping a clean sheet as the match was won 3–0. Jlio César played in a line-up of 11 international players on the pitch against Petralka on November 24th, with Lus Figo being the only European.

Jlio César completed his first season with Nerazzurrri by appearing in 40 games, as Inter lifted the championship following Juventus' relegation due to match fixing, and then defeated Coppa Italia by beating Roma 4–2 on aggregate, with César competing in both finals. Inter completed the domestic treble, finishing the job. His contributions were highlighted in his first season as he was known for saving penalties and making great saves, causing Francesco Toldo to lose his place as the starting keeper after four seasons.

Jlio César and Inter were even more successful during the 2006–07 season, when the player and the team set multiple records in the league. He appeared in 32 games as the championship came to an end, with Inter winning it for the 15th time in history. He had 12 clean sheets and conceded 30 goals, with Inter losing only once; the team had five games to spare and won the championship with 5 games to spare, and they won the tournament with 97 points and a record for consecutive matches without defeat, 31.

In a 1–1 draw against Udinese in the first week of championship, Jlio César started his 2007–08 season, his first in Inter colours. In the crucial last match against Parma, he kept three clean-sheets in the Champions League group stage to help Inter finish first in Group G. Jlio César set a new personal record in terms of clean sheets by taking 17 clean-sheets in 35 Serie A matches, with a 53 percent average. He made 8 appearances in the Champions League, but the team was disqualified in the round of 16 by Liverpool.

On August 24, 2008, Jlio César began his Inter season by playing in the Supercoppa Italiana match against Roma; the regular and extra-time tie ended in a 2–2 draw. He stopped Inter's goal from winning as the Nerazzurrri defeated 8–7 in the penalty shootout, saving Inter's victory. Inter won 1–0 against Lecce in the 2008–09 Serie A Week 4, a month later, he made his 100th appearance in Serie A. Inter finished the championship in the first place with 84 points, ten more than second place Juventus, with Jlio César scoring 17 clean-sheets in 36 matches, equaling his personal record set the previous season.

Jlio César was named by ESPN Brasil as the best player of the 2008-09 season in July 2009. He also received the Prêmio Futebol no Mundo (Football in the World Award), which was given to the best Brazilian footballer playing outside Brazil in that season.

Jlio César was one of the main protagonists of the 2009–10 season, where he appeared in 54 games in all competitions. He started a new life with Inter in November 2009, extending his term until 2014 by two years. Jlio César finished 21st in the 2009 Ballon d'Or rankings on December 1st. Inter defeated 2–0 with 9 players later today in the Derby della Madonnina versus Milan on January 24, 2010. He kept his goal intact by saving a penalty of his international teammate Ronaldinho. Jlio César was involved in a car crash two days before the first leg of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League tournament against Chelsea, which left him bruised and nursing lacerations to his face. Despite losing in the second half, he was able to start the game, and Inter's second leg was a good show as Inter defeated Inter 2–1. Jlio César was instrumental in the team's Coppa Italia campaign, where he kept two clean-sheets against Fiorentina, sending Inter to the final 2–0 on aggregate. He was also on top of his game against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals, defeating Lionel Messi, including one that was dubbed "career defining" by Jlio César himself. Inter won the final for the first time since 1972 after being 3–2 on aggregate. He captured his first trophy of the season on May 5 by a strong display against Roma, winning 1–0 to claim the Coppa Italia trophy. Jlio César won his fifth straight Scudetto as Inter defeated Siena to finish the championship two points ahead of Roma. Inter won 2–0 in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on May 22, making crucial saves against Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben as Inter defeated 2–0 thanks to Diego Milito's brace, winning their first European title in 45 years. Inter became the first Italian club to win the treble by winning Serie A, Coppa Italia, and the UEFA Champions League. For the second year in a row, he was always on time and maintained 17 clean sheets, earning him the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award, marking only the third goalkeeper to win the game more than once. He was named UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for his work in the Champions League. Ex Inter and Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, who said he believed that Jlio César was the best goalkeeper in the world, lauded his impressive form for Inter.

César's squad number jumped from 12 to 1, which was vacated by former Francesco Toldo, ahead of the new season. Luca Castellazzi, a former squad member of his old squad, has joined him. He captured his 4th Supercoppa Italiana title on August 21, 2010 at San Siro, and Inter defeated Roma 3–1. In November 2010, the medical staff at Jlio César discovered a torn thigh injury and put his participation in the FIFA Club World Cup in question. In the semi-final match against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, he was recovered on time and was called for the tournament, retaining a clean sheet. He kept his goal intact in the final, which helped the team win the trophy for the first time after defeating TP Mazembe 3–0. After Liverpool in 2001, Al-Ahly in 2006 and Barcelona in 2009, Inter continued to be the country's fourth team after Barcelona. Jlio César was voted the second best goalkeeper of 2010 by the IFFHS, only behind Iker Casillas. In addition, he was named Inter Player of the Year for his outstanding performances throughout the year, winning the Pirata d'Oro Award for his outstanding performances throughout the year. In the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or rankings, he came in 19th, placing second in comparison to last year's.

His torn thigh injury resurfaced at the start of 2011, leaving him sidelined for 28 days and missing eight matches along the way. He returned to action on January 30th in the league match against Palermo, and although losing twice in the first half, Inter bounced back to win 3–2. Jlio César's poor showing against Bayern Munich in the first leg of the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League final round of 16 proved to be a resurgent Mario Gómez, who scored for a 1–0 victory at San Siro in February. In the second leg, he repeated the howler, making another poor save against Robben but not enough for Gómez to score again. However, he was decisive in a one-on-one save against Franck Ribéry and another one against Gómez; Inter won 3–2, indicating that they had won the game on the away goal rule. He appeared in both legs of his semi-final match against Roma, keeping a clean-sheet in the first one as Inter reached the final for the second straight season, defeating Palermo to win the third trophy of the season. Jlio César completed his 2010–11 campaign by appearing in 39 different leagues, including 25 in league, where Inter failed to win the championship for the first time after five seasons. The team lost the trophy after being eliminated by Schalke 04 in the quarter finals in the Champions League, where Jlio César played 7 games.

Jlio César played his 200th Serie A match against Napoli on October 1, 2011, losing 3–0 home and saving a penalty kick in the first half. In the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League Group B matchday 4, Jlio César made his 50th appearance in the UEFA Champions League in the 1-1 draw against Trabzonspor. Inter was able to gain a spot in the round of 16. On March 18, 2012, he had a century of clean sheets in Serie A, playing in the goalless draw against Atalanta in the matchday 28. Inter has lost just one of their last nine league matches because of the draw. Jlio César's 300th appearance in all Inter competitions culminated on May 6th in the penultimate week of Serie A against Milan, which Inter took 32-02. He apologised for a contentious penalty to Kevin-Prince Boateng and was involved in a verbal altercation with Zlatan Ibrahimovi who went on to convert the penalty. He was fined for the penalty, which caused him to miss the season's last match against Lazio. He completed his 7th season with Interdom, with the team finishing sixth in league, just five goals shy of equalizing their all-time record in a single Serie A campaign. The team was disqualified by Marseille in the round of 16 by away goal rule, and Napoli had to be barred from Coppa Italia. Inter signed Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanoviski from Udinese to take over as first-choice goalkeeper after several critics believe Jlio César had been off form since the 2009–10 season.

Jlio César announced his intention to leave Inter on July 31, 2012, saying, "They have been seven beautiful and fruitful years, but, in a few days, my Inter shirt journey will come to an end." I would like to thank all of you fans, and I hope you have a lot more success to enjoy." Inter suggested to lower his salary, but Jlio César denied by saying, "no one in my situation would have done that." He sent his farewell before the match against Vaslui, as he and his children marched on the field to thank the fans with an open letter written by himself.

Jlio César, the Brazilian Premier League's former captain, signed him to Queens Park Rangers on a four-year deal on August 29, 2012. He was the fourth champion in the QPR squad, alongside Djibril Cissé (2005), Park Ji-sung (2008), and José Bosingwa (2004 and 2012).

On September 15, 2012, Jlio César made his Premier League debut in the home match against Chelsea, putting in a clean sheet as the game ended in a goalless draw. He appeared in 26 games in his debut season, including 24 in league, while keeping 6 clean-sheets as QPR was relegated to the EFL Championship after only two seasons.

Jlio César was frozen out of QPR's squad following his relegation from the Premier League at the end of his rookie season. Despite this, he did not leave the club before the summer transfer window closed. Jlio César appeared in his first game for Rangers against Everton in the FA Cup's third round on January 4, 2014, where QPR lost 4–0.

Jlio César announced on February 7, 2014, that he had signed a loan for Major League Soccer (MLS) club Toronto FC. As he had been named by Robert Green as QPR's first choice goalkeeper, the move was made to get some match action for him before representing Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. César made his debut with Toronto in their season opener on March 15th, which culminated in a 2–1 away win with both goals coming from newly acquired Jermain Defoe. During week seven of the season, he was named MLS Save of the Week against FC Dallas' David Texeira. On July 25, he was recalled from loan and returned to QPR.

The club announced on August 19th that by mutual agreement, they had ended the deal with Jlio César. He said he didn't play in his second season with Rangers due to "contractual issues." "I'd have to go to the park by myself," he said. "I even bought some goalkeeper gloves because I didn't want my team to know about it."

Jlio César, the Portuguese champions, agreed to a two-year contract with Portuguese champions Benfica on August 19, 2014. In a 3–1 Primeira Liga home victory over Moreirense on September 21, he made his debut for the team. He set the fourth-best record at Benfica without conceding a single goal in the Portuguese league on January 26, 2015, at 808 minutes. On May 9, then set a personal record in terms of clean sheets, with a 59 percent average (16 clean sheets in 27 matches) beating his 53 percent record with Inter. He was named Best Goalkeeper in Primeira Liga in early July. He continued his work with Benfica until 2018. However, his employment was terminated by mutual consent on November 28, 2017. He gained six trophies, including three on league titles, during his time on the Lisbon side.

Flamengo announced the return of Jlio César to the club on January 29, 2018, 13 years after he had left for Europe. Jlio César returned to the club to say his goodbyes after completing a three-month deal. For the work, he will be paid a 15,000 Brazilian real. He was given squad number 12 which had been previously withheld in honour of the fans.

On March 8, Jlio César played his first match for Flamengo in 13 years, starting and wearing the captain armband in a 3–0 away victory over Boavista in 2018 Campeonato Carioca.

Before the match, Júlio César stated:

International career

In the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Ecuador, Jlio César was the starting keeper of Brazil's under-17 team. In all three Group C matches, he kept clean-sheets against Germany, Oman, and Canada, ultimately helping Brazil finish on top. Brazil advanced to the final, defeating Argentina in the semi-finals, but losing 3–2 to Ghana.

Jlio César, who competed for Brazil under 20 years in 1999, was part of the Brazil under-20 team. When Brazil was disqualified in the quarter-finals by Uruguay, he was the second choice behind Fábio, making no appearances.

Jlio César was the first member of Brazil's senior team in the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup, but he did not participate because the team was disqualified in the group stage. As Seleço defeated 1–0, he was among the team members for the 2004 Copa América, where he made his first international appearance, starting in Group C against Chile. He became Brazil's ninth player to play at least a match. He was the starting keeper of the tournament, leading the team to the final against Argentina. The regular time ended in a 2–2 draw that resulted in the game's penalty shootouts, where Jlio César saved the first penalty executed by Andrés D'Alessandro in a 4–2 win. This victory was his first international trophy and Brazil's seventh title.

Jlio César spent the majority of his 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign on bench, with Dida's understudy only making only two appearances in both matches against Bolivia. He was included in Carlos Alberto Parreira's final tournament squad, starting squad number 22 as the third keeper. He did not participate in the tournament because Brazil was eliminated in the quarterfinals by France.

After the World Cup and Dida's international retirement, the competition for Brazil's next first-choice goalkeeper began. He was initially out of favour, as new coach Dunga favored Gomes, Helton, and Doni ahead of him. However, he managed to join the team and then, he replaced Doni as the first-choice goalkeeper in September 2007. He had only 14 international caps to his name up until that time.

Jlio César started his 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification by keeping two clean-sheets in his first two matches against Colombia, a goalless draw, and Ecuador, a 5–0 victory. During the qualifying season, he was unashamed, appearing 18 times, maintaining 10 clean sheets, and conceding only 11 goals, including the goalkeeper with the most clean-sheets and the fewest goals conceded, as Brazil clinched the first position and secured a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Jlio César's career also set a Brazil record by keeping his goal intact for 581 minutes, starting the match against Paraguay and ending it in the final regular minute of the match against Ecuador. This made him the Brazil keeper with the most minutes without conceding, surpassing Claudio Taffarel's previous record of 491 minutes.

Jlio César was named in the Brazil squad by manager Dunga in June 2009 for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. In Brazil's 4–3 victory over Egypt on June 15, he played his first match in the tournament. He was rated as positive or not. In the remaining two matches of Group B, Jlio César kept clean sheets, despite Brazil finishing on top with full points. Brazil defeated South Africa in the semi-finals, with Jlio César providing a Man of the Match appearance. Jlio César won his second international trophy after Brazil defeated the United States 3–2 in the first half despite conceding twice in the first half. He was the tournament's best clean-sheets, with 3 in 5 matches.

Brazil was disqualified in Group G of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Guatemala, and the team was also playing in a friendly against Zimbabwe that was won 3–0. He was selected by boss Dunga and Inter teammates Lcio and Maicon, who were crowned with the Treble and honours. Jlio César played his first FIFA World Cup match in Group G's first match, winning 2–1 over North Korea on June 15th. In his second international match, a 3–1 triumph over the Ivory Coast, he made his 50th appearance in the second group match. In the last group match against Portugal, which ended 0–0, he kept his first FIFA World Cup clean-sheet. The winners were destined to the knockout stage as Group G winners. Jlio César was at fault in the quarter-final match against the Netherlands, when his flap at a Wesley Sneijder cross resulted in the goal that saw the Dutch draw level; Brazil lost 2–1 and was disqualified. Following the elimination, he said he had doubts over how to play with Melo." In five matches, he ended his World Cup career by keeping two clean-sheets.

Mano Menezes called Jlio César for the 2011 Copa América, his 6th international tournament. In the 0–0 draw against Venezuela, he made his first Copa América appearance on July by keeping a clean sheet. Seleço won Group B by 5 points, placing it in first place. Jlio César kept his goal alive in the regular and extra-time until the match was decided on penalty shoot-out, where Brazil was eliminated 0–2 after missing all of their attempts.

Jlio César was eager to be part of the team after Copa América had ended; he was in goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first friendly of 2012. Bosnia's only goal was scored by Brazil after his inability to save a shot from Vedad Ibievi. This howler resulted in him being suspended by manager Mano Menezes for the remainder of 2012.

On the 6th February 2013, Luiz Felipe Scolari put Jlio César in the 23 players list for the friendly against England. "I never gave up on playing for Brazil," Jlio César said in reference to his return to the national team after almost a year. He made his first international appearance after 12 months by playing in the match, losing in both halves as Brazil lost 21-0 at Wembley Stadium. This was also England's first victory over "Verde-Amarela" in 23 years.

Jlio César was one of 23 players named by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to compete in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup on home soil. He played three games in Group A and kept two clean sheets; the first against Japan (3–0) and the second against Mexico (2–0). Jlio César saved a penalty kick taken by Diego Forlán in the 14th minute of the semifinal against Uruguay. Brazil defeated the match by 2–1, and Jlio César was named man of the match. In the final, he kept his goal intact, as Brazil defeated Spain 3–0 to win their fourth title. He was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament for his efforts; he was also a member of the FIFA.com Users' Dream Team. When wearing Iker Casillas' shirt, Jlio César received the award, he said, "a big thank you for everything he did."

Jlio César was named in Brazil's squad for the 2014 World Cup on home soil again on June 2nd. Jlio César saved from Mauricio Pinilla and Alexis Sánchez in the penalty shootout against Chile, advancing Brazil to a quarter-final against Colombia in the team's round of 16 matches. He was named Man of the Match for his efforts, which culminated in him receiving the Man of the Match award. However, he conceded five goals against Germany in the first half of the semi-finals, which the Germans won 7-1, and after Brazil lost 3–0 to the Netherlands in the third round play-off match, Jlio César retired from the national team.

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