Júlio César Soares de Espíndola (born 3 September 1979), known as Júlio César (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Júlio César spent seven years at Italian club Inter Milan, with whom he won five Scudetti, the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, and the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup. He was awarded the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year title in both 2009 and 2010, and was nominated for the 2009 Ballon d'Or, where he was voted into 21st place. He was also named UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year after the 2009–10 season and won the Golden Glove award at the 2013 Confederations Cup.
César won 87 international caps for Brazil. He was selected for the 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, and two Copa América tournaments.
Club career Flamengo and Chievo Júlio César began his professional career with Clube de Regatas do Flamengo in 1997. He made his debut that year on 17 May in a match versus Fluminense where he saved a penalty kick, which proved to be insufficient as the team lost 2–0. From 1997 to 2000, he served as Clemer's understudy, only taking his spot during the Copa João Havelange, showing good skills in goal.
Júlio César's performances in goal also earned him his first call-up to the Brazil senior squad in 2002, also helping Flamengo to escape relegation in several times in 2001, 2002 and 2004. His best match for the team was the second match of 2001 Campeonato Carioca final against Vasco da Gama, making several great saves. Following the match, while still on the dressing room, he interrupted a live interview of Beto to make a provocation to Vasco da Gama president Eurico Miranda, who, according to him, had already reserved the party at Basque.
In 2003, Júlio César became embroiled in a controversy during the loss to Fluminense. With Flamengo already trailing 4–0, César, after making a save, dropped the ball on the ground and begun playing with the feet, dribbling several players until the ball was taken by Zé Carlos. This attitude was heavily criticized by then coach of the team, Evaristo de Macedo, who called him an "idiot". According to César, he did this because he was desperate and was feeling helpless, stating: "Fluminense was giving us the runaround and I wanted to help my teammates, who were going through a difficult situation. I overdid it because I was sad and hurt, but I already apologized on Saturday."
He left the club at the beginning of 2005, having made 285 appearances for the club in all competitions. He was the third goalkeeper with most appearances for the club, behind only Cantarele (557) and Zé Carlos (352).
In January 2005, he moved to Italian Serie A club Chievo. Due to Serie A regulations that impose a cap on the number of non-EU players clubs can sign from abroad, Júlio César could not join Inter Milan at the time and was initially registered to Chievo through a deal between the two clubs.
Inter Milan In July 2005, following a deal between Chievo and Inter, Júlio César officially signed a three-year contract with Inter. The deal cost Inter €2.45 million.
2005–06: Debut season Júlio César was given squad number 12, and made his official debut on 10 August in the first leg of 2005–06 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round versus Shakhtar Donetsk, keeping a clean-sheet in the 2–0 win at RSC Olimpiyskiy. His first title with the club came to him when he was benched at the Supercoppa Italiana against Juventus. César made his Serie A debut on 28 August in the season opener against Treviso, making a good overall performance and keeping a clean-sheet as the match was won 3–0. On 24 November, during a Champions League group stage match against Petržalka, Júlio César played in a line-up of 11 foreign players on the pitch; Luís Figo was the only european.
Júlio César finished his first season with Nerazzurri by making 40 appearances in all competitions, as Inter won the championship following the relegation of Juventus due to match-fixing, and also conquered Coppa Italia by defeating Roma 4–2 on aggregate, with César playing on both finals. Inter thus completed the domestic treble. His performances were noted during his first season, as he was distinguished for saving penalties and making great saves, which made Francesco Toldo lose his place as starting keeper after four seasons.
2006–09: Domestic success The 2006–07 season was even more successful for Júlio César and Inter, as the player and the team set several records in the league. He played 32 matches as the championship ended in conquest, with Inter winning it for the 15th time in history. He kept 12 clean-sheets and conceded 30 goals, with Inter losing only once; they won the title with 5 games to spare, and collected 97 points and setting a record for most consecutive matches without defeat, 31.
Júlio César begun 2007–08 season by receiving a red card, his first in Inter colours, in a 1–1 draw versus Udinese in the opening week of championship. He kept three clean-sheets in the Champions League group stage to help Inter finish top of Group G. He finished the season by winning another championship, contributing with a clean-sheet in the decisive last match against Parma. By keeping 17 clean-sheets in 35 Serie A matches, Júlio César set a personal record in terms of clean sheets, with a 53 percent average. In the Champions League, he made 8 appearances, but the team was eliminated in the round of 16 by Liverpool.
Júlio César commenced his 4th Inter season on 24 August 2008 by playing in the Supercoppa Italiana match against Roma; the regular and extra-time ended in a 2–2 draw. In the penalty shoot-out, he stopped the attempt of his Brazil teammate Juan which paved Inter's way to victory as the Nerazzurri won 8–7. One month later, he made his 100th Serie A appearance as Inter won 1–0 versus Lecce in the 2008–09 Serie A week 4. Inter finished the championship again in the first place with 84 points, 10 more than the second place Juventus, with Júlio César contributing with 17 clean-sheets in 36 matches, equaling his personal best set the previous season.
In July 2009, Júlio César was chosen by ESPN Brasil as the best player of the 2008–09 season. He also received the Prêmio Futebol no Mundo (Football in the World Award), designated to the best Brazilian footballer playing outside Brazil in that season.
2009–10: Treble-winning campaign
Júlio César was one of the main protagonists during the 2009–10 season, where he played 54 matches in all competitions. In November 2009, he signed a contract with Inter which would last until 2014, adding two more years to his contract. On 1 December, Júlio César finished 21st in the 2009 Ballon d'Or ranking. Later on 24 January 2010, in the Derby della Madonnina versus Milan, he kept his goal intact by saving a penalty of his international teammate Ronaldinho as Inter won 2–0 with 9 players to increase their league lead. Júlio César then was involved in a car accident just two days before the first leg of 2009–10 UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Chelsea which left him bruised and nursing lacerations to his face. He was, however, able to start the game and despite conceding in the second half made a decent overall performance as Inter won the first leg 2–1. Júlio César was vital also in team's Coppa Italia campaign where he kept two clean-sheets in the semi-final tie against Fiorentina which sent Inter to the final 2–0 on aggregate. He also was on top of his game in the semi-final tie of Champions League versus Barcelona, saving several shots, including one in the second leg against Lionel Messi that was dubbed as "career defining" by Júlio César himself. Inter won 3–2 on aggregate to reach the final for the first time since 1972. He won his first trophy of the season on 5 May by making an excellent performance against Roma as Inter won 1–0 to claim the Coppa Italia trophy. Eleven days later, Júlio César won his fifth consecutive Scudetto as Inter won at Siena to finish the championship two points ahead of Roma. On 22 May in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, he made another splendid performance, making vital saves against Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben as Inter won 2–0 thanks to the brace of Diego Milito, winning their first European title in 45 years. By winning Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Champions League, Inter became the first Italian club to win the treble. His performances in league, where he was ever-present and kept 17 clean-sheets earned him Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award for the second consecutive year, also becoming only the third goalkeeper to win it more than once. For his performances in the Champions League, he won the award UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year. His impressive form for Inter earned him praise from former Inter and Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, who stated his belief that Júlio César was the best goalkeeper in the world.
2010–11: FIFA Club World Cup champion Ahead of the new season, César changed his squad number from 12 to 1, which was vacated by the retired Francesco Toldo. His old squad number became part of newcomer Luca Castellazzi. On 21 August 2010, he won his 4th Supercoppa Italiana trophy; Inter faced Roma in a 3–1 comeback win at San Siro. In November 2010, the medical staff discovered a torn thigh injury at Júlio César and put his presence at FIFA Club World Cup in doubt. He was recovered in time and was called for the tournament, keeping a clean-sheet in the semi-final match against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. He kept his goal intact in the final as well which helped the team to win the trophy for the first time after defeating TP Mazembe 3–0. Inter thus completed the Quintuple to become the fourth team in the world after Liverpool in 2001, Al-Ahly in 2006 and Barcelona in 2009. Júlio César ended 2010 by being named second best goalkeeper of 2010 by IFFHS, only behind Iker Casillas. He was also named Inter Player of the Year for 2010 for his outstanding appearances throughout the year, receiving Pirata d'Oro Award. He finished 19th in the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or ranking, winning two places compare to last year ranking.
His torn thigh injury reappeared at the beginning of 2011 which kept him sidelined for 28 days, missing eight matches in the process. He returned on action on 30 January in the league match against Palermo and despite conceding twice in the first half, contributed by saving a Javier Pastore penalty and his rebound as well as Inter bounced back to win 3–2. In February, Júlio César made a poor performance in the first leg of 2010–11 UEFA Champions League round of 16 against Bayern Munich, as his weak save against Arjen Robben turned into a rebound for Mario Gómez who scored for a 1–0 win at San Siro. He repeated the howler in the second leg as well, making another poor save against Robben only for Gómez to score again. However, he was decisive in a one-on-one save against Franck Ribéry and another one against Gómez; Inter eventually overturned the game and won 3–2, meaning they progressed on the away goal rule. In the Coppa Italia, he played in both legs of semi-final tie against Roma, keeping a clean-sheet in the first one as Inter reached the final for the second consecutive season, where they defeating Palermo to win the third trophy of the season. Júlio César finished 2010–11 campaign by making 39 appearances in all competitions, including 25 in league, where Inter failed to win the title for the first time after five seasons. In the Champions League, where Júlio César played seven matches, the team lost the crown after being eliminated by Schalke 04 in the quarter-finals.
2011–12: 300th match and farewell