Léo Júnior

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Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior (born 29 June 1954), also known as Léo Júnior or simply Júnior, is a Brazilian football pundit and retired footballer who played as a left back or midfielder.<ref name="enciclopedialance">Template:Cite book</ref>

He was nicknamed "Capacete" ("helmet", in Portuguese) because of his afro hairstyle.

He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004.<ref name="bbcfifa100">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Junior now works as a television pundit for Rede Globo.

Club career

Léo Júnior played for Flamengo during the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, winning four Brazilian Championships (1980, 1982, 1983, 1992), the 1981 Copa Libertadores and 1981 Intercontinental Cup.<ref name="enciclopedialance"/> With 857 matches, he is the player with most appearances for Flamengo.<ref name="espnbrasil">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 12 June 1984 he was bought by Torino, for a fee of two million dollars. Léo Júnior asked and obtained a guarantee to play as a midfielder rather than a full-back, because he considered the former role less stressful, so to extend the life of his career. Although he was now thirty years old, after some initial difficulties, he succeeded in integrating in the formation coached by Luigi Radice, becoming the leader of the midfield. During his first year in Italy he was the victim of two incidents of racism: in Milan he was repeatedly insulted and spat upon as he left the stadium with his mother and father and in Turin, on the occasion of the derby, Juventus fans exhibited offensive banners on the colour of his skin. The Torino supporters responded promptly with another banner: "Better negro than a Juventus fan". At the end of the season, finished second behind Verona, he was awarded Serie A's player of the year.<ref name="FIFA">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During his time with "Toro" he was also given the affectionate nickname of "papà Júnior", due to his elder appearance. He remained in Turin until 1987, when he had a fallout with the manager Radice. The coach believed the performance of the Brazilian lower than that of the first season, while Léo Júnior was particularly annoyed for being substituted during a UEFA Cup tie against HNK Hajduk Split, which culminated with the elimination of the team.

He also played for Italian club Pescara between 1987 and 1989.<ref name="enciclopedialance"/>

In early June 1991 he returned to Torino for a short spell on loan from Flamengo to bolster their team while participating in the Mitropa Cup. With Júnior in fine form, Torino won the tournament.

International career

Léo Júnior competed in the men's tournament at the 1976 Summer Olympics.<ref>Template:Cite Sports-Reference</ref>

He went on to record 74 appearances for the Brazil national team, between May 1979 and December 1992, scoring six goals.<ref name="enciclopediaselecao">Template:Cite book</ref> He appeared in both the 1982<ref name="worldcup1982">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and 1986 World Cup.<ref name="worldcup1986">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He also took part in many Beach Soccer World Championships as part of the Brazil national team, winning awards for top scorer and best player.<ref name="enciclopedialance"/> Overall Léo Júnior played for Brazil beach soccer between 1993 and 2001, notching up 201 goals during those years,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> including 71 goals at the World Championships.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He stopped playing to pursue the development of the sport.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2019, he was crowned "Best Legend" at the 2019 Beach Soccer Stars awards<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the magazine France Football placed Júnior fifth in an article named "10 Legends of Beach Soccer".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Managerial career

Léo Júnior coached Flamengo from 1993 to 1994, and in 1997. He coached Corinthians from 1 October 2003 to 10 October 2003.

Style of play

Léo Júnior was known for his technique and teamwork as well as his versatility, playing at left back and on the left side of midfield for Brazil due to his two footedness whilst often playing as a central midfielder or deep-lying playmaker at club level; he was also capable of playing on the right flank, and initially started out as an attacking right-back. He was as capable of "orchestrating attacking moves as fulfilling his defensive remit."<ref>Junior, from the pitch to the box FIFA.com</ref> In addition to his playmaking skills, he was highly regarded for his elegance, leadership, and tactical intelligence, as well as his ability to get forward, provide precise crosses for his teammates, or strike on goal. Moreover, he was also an accurate free kick and penalty taker.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Junior is married. His wife is Eloisa. They have three children: Viviana, Carolina, and son Rodrigo.<ref name="historiadordofutebol">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The eldest, Rodrigo, was a professional footballer, winning the Rio de Janeiro Youth Championship in 2002.<ref>Herdeiro do ex-craque Júnior tenta seguir carreira em Minas</ref> and then playing for Bangu and América. Viviana became a choreographer and dance teacher, and Carolina works as a stylist for the Globo TV channel.<ref name="tudotimao">As histórias desconhecidas de Júnior: de filho de empresário a comentarista</ref>

In 1982, Junior recorded an album of songs called "Voa Canarinho", which went double platinum and sold 726,000 copies.<ref name="historiadordofutebol"/><ref name="tudotimao"/>

As a young man, Junior passed the university entrance exam in veterinary science, but chose football. Later, already a famous football player, he entered the Candido Mendes College, but studied there only until the second year.<ref name="tudotimao"/>

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition<ref>Template:NFT player</ref>
Club Season League National cupTemplate:Efn League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Flamengo 1975 Série A 27 0
1976 21 1
1977 18 0
1978 25 4
1979 7 1
1980 19 1
1981 6 0
1982 23 0
1983 26 0
1984 20 0
Total 174 6
Torino 1984–85 Serie A 26 7
1985–86 30 4
1986–87 30 1
Total 86 12
Pescara 1987–88 Serie A 28 3
1988–89 34 3
Total 62 8
Flamengo 1988 Série A 1 0
1989 15 1 3 1
1990 12 0 4 0
1991 17 0
1992 25 9
1993 0 0 8 1
Total 70 10 15 2
Career total 410 35

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Honours

Football

Flamengo

Torino

Brazil

Individual

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Beach soccer

Brazil

Individual

References

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