Roque Júnior

José Vítor Roque Júnior (Template:IPA; born 31 August 1976), more commonly known as Roque Júnior, is a Brazilian football pundit<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and former player who played as a defender.

He won 48 caps for Brazil and was part of the winning squad at the 2002 World Cup. He is one of five players that have won the Copa Libertadores, the Champions League and the World Cup; the others are Ronaldinho, Cafu, Dida and Julián Álvarez.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Club career

Roque Júnior was born in Santa Rita do Sapucaí. During his career, he played for Santarritense, São José, Palmeiras, AC Milan, Leeds United, Siena, Bayer Leverkusen, MSV Duisburg and Qatari side Al-Rayyan. He is an iconic footballer for Palmeiras, as he played more than 200 competitive games for them.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His greatest success in club football came playing for Palmeiras, with whom he won the 1999 Copa Libertadores and with A.C. Milan winning the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League. In the Champions League final he heroically played most of the extra-time carrying a severe injury.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

There was excitement at Elland Road when Peter Reid brought Roque to Leeds on loan, but it was short lived as the team conceded 25 times in his seven appearances, failing to win and suffering six defeats with Roque being sent off on his home debut against Birmingham City. However, he did score two goals in a League Cup game against Manchester United (Leeds lost 3–2) but his spell at Leeds was not considered a success.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In September 2008, Palmeiras have signed him from Al-Rayyan on loan until the end of the season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After leaving Palmeiras in November 2008, he was offered to Australian A-League clubs in April<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was in talks with Avaí gaffer Paulo Silas in July,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> but nothing materialised out of it. In February 2010, Ituano signed the former Brazil international, who had last played in 2008 for Palmeiras.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

International career

Roque Júnior was successful on the international stage for Brazil, having played 48 games (two of them unofficial)Template:Clarify and scored two goals, and also captaining them on a number of occasions. He was a starter in the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning campaign, forming the back line with Lúcio and Edmílson.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was later called up for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, but did not make it into the squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to injury.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He made his last international appearance in 2005 and announced his retirement on 4 September 2007.

Personal life

Roque Júnior is devoted to helping São José Esporte Clube's youth players with a project called "Projeto Primeira Camisa" ("Project First Jersey").<ref name="Projeto Primeira Camisa">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Roque Júnior was the most popular host of Total Request Live on Brazil MTV (BMTV) during his 10-year stint (2005–2015).Template:Citation needed

Management and coaching

In 2015, Roque Júnior took his first managerial role at XV de Piracicaba.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career statistics

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year<ref name="NFT">Template:NFT</ref>

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	1999	1	0
	2000	4	2
	2001	10	0
	2002	9	0
	2003	5	0
	2004	11	0
	2005	8	0
Total		48	2

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

List of international goals scored by Roque Júnior <ref name="NFT"/>

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	23 February 2000	Rajamangala Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand	Template:Fb	5–0	7–0	2000 King's Cup
2.	15 November 2000	Estádio do Morumbi, São Paulo, Brazil	Template:Fb	1–0	1–0	2002 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Palmeiras

• Campeonato Paulista: 1996, 2008
• Copa do Brasil: 1998
• Copa Mercosur: 1998
• Copa Libertadores: 1999
• Torneio Rio – São Paulo: 2000
• Intercontinental Cup runner-up: 1999

Milan

• UEFA Champions League: 2002–03
• Coppa Italia: 2002–03

Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 2002
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 2005

External links

• Template:Sambafoot
• Template:Fussballdaten
• Who's who - Roque Junior Leverkusen.com