Júnior Baiano

Born in Feira de Santana, Júnior began his career in the late 1980s, playing with Flamengo in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Over the course of the next 15 years, his career took him to Germany, China and all over Brazil. In Germany, he is best known for the ten-match ban that he received after punching an opponent in a match, which caused his club Werder Bremen to cancel his four-year contract. He won the Campeonato Carioca twice in two stints with Flamengo in 1991 and 2004, as well as the Copa do Brasil and the Campeonato Brasileiro. He also won the Copa CONMEBOL and the Recopa Sul-Americana with São Paulo in 1994 and the Copa Libertadores with Palmeiras in 1999. Júnior retired at the end of 2005 but in December 2006, he signed a professional contract with América (RJ) to save the club from relegation in the Campeonato Carioca in the beginning of 2007. He left for Brasiliense in the Série B that same year. After a brief stint with Volta Redonda in 2009, Júnior went to Miami FC of the USL First Division, which is coached by his former Brazilian national teammate Zinho.

Júnior Baiano earned 25 caps with the Brazil national team in 1997 and 1998, and was a member of the Brazil squad which took part in the 1998 World Cup, the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and which won the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. During the 1998 World Cup Baiano played a key role in the Brazil squad which reached the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in Paris, although in the match against Norway which Brazil lost 2–1, he lost a "trial of strength" with Tore André Flo immediately before the striker hit the ball beyond the reach of Claudio Taffarel to equalize, and also fouled the same player a few minutes later, pulling his shirt inside the 18-yard box, which resulted in the awarding of a penalty kick, from which the Norwegians scored the decisive goal.

Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Júnior Baiano goal.

Flamengo Campeonato Carioca: 1991, 1996, 2004 Copa do Brasil: 1990 Campeonato Brasileiro: 1992 Copa de Oro: 1996 São Paulo Recopa Sul-Americana: 1994 Copa Conmebol: 1994 Palmeiras Copa do Brasil: 1998 Copa Mercosur: 1998 Copa Libertadores: 1999 Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1999 Vasco da Gama Campeonato Brasileiro: 2000 Copa Mercosur: 2000 FIFA Club World Cup runner-up: 2000 Internacional Campeonato Gaúcho: 2002 Shanghai Shenhua Chinese Super League: 2003 Brasiliense Campeonato Brasiliense: 2008 Brazil

FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997 Individual

kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1995–96 Bola de Prata: 1997