José Luiz Guimarães Sanabio Júnior, nicknamed Júnior Pipoca (Junior Popcorn), Diabo Loiro (Blonde Devil), or simply Júnior, (born 15 June 1976) is a Brazilian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

striker playing for Jacuipense of the

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

ian Bahia State Championship. He represented many clubs, including

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

and

Rotherham United Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional association football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The team plays in EFL League One, the third tier of English football, after suffering relegation fr ...

, and has played in eight countries.

Biography

Born in

Fortaleza Fortaleza ( ; ; ) is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeastern Brazil. It is Brazil's 4th largest city—Fortaleza surpassed Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in 2022 census with a population of slightly over 2.4 mi ...

, Brazil, Júnior arrived in Europe and at English

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

side

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

from Brazilian side Treze at the beginning of the 2002–03 season. Júnior and

Jorge Leitão Jorge Manuel Vasconcelos Leitão (born 14 January 1974) is a Portuguese retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He was known for his six-year spell with Walsall in England, but he also scored 28 goals in 169 games in the Portu ...

formed a Portuguese speaking front-line that was envied by most clubs in the league. Between them they scored 29 goals during the course of the season, Júnior scoring 16 of them, for a side which many believe was the most talented Walsall team since the club's golden era under Bill Moore in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Despite the best efforts of Walsall manager

Colin Lee Colin Lee (born 12 June 1956) is an English football manager and former footballer. He is currently head of football at South Dartmoor Community College in Ashburton, Devon along with Chris Beard. Playing career Lee began his football career w ...

to sign him permanently, Júnior moved on to

in August 2003; in his final game at the

Bescot Stadium Bescot Stadium, currently known as the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in the area of Bescot, Walsall, West Midlands, England, and is the current home ground of Walsall Football Club and Aston Vill ...

, he had demonstrated his skills perfectly by scoring a hat-trick against the Rams. Júnior got off to a good start at Derby, forming a talented partnership up front with Charlton loanee

Mathias Svensson Johan Mathias Svensson (born 24 September 1974) is a Swedish former professional Football (soccer), footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker. Starting off his career with IF Elfsborg in the mid-1990s, he spent most of h ...

, but Svensson was recalled by Charlton. Júnior then injured a cruciate knee ligament in September, and, when he had recovered, he did not get much of a chance to play. He moved to

(on loan) and to

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, who sold him due to a problem with legal paperwork and his apparent lack of correct personal permits. Júnior then moved to Denmark in October 2005, to OB. He scored nine goals in 16 matches, before being sold to Swedish club

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

on 1 July 2006. He scored 17 goals in 38 appearances for

, increasing his reputation in Sweden. On 16 April 2007, he famously scored

's 3000th goal in Swedish league history, when he scored the opening goal against

GAIS Gais () is a village and a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. The area of Gais is . In 1977, the village Gais received the Wakker Prize for the development and preservation of its architectural heritage. The ...

after one minute.

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

signed José Junior on 31 January 2008. He spent much of his time there on the bench because of the stiff competition from

Morten Nordstrand Morten Nordstrand Nielsen (; born 8 June 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer, who played as a striker. He is currently the assistant coach of F.C. Copenhagen U17. He has played eight times for the Denmark national football team. ...

and fellow Brazilians Aílton Almeida and

César Santin César Santin (; born 24 February 1981) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently working as an academy coach at Hillerød Fodbold. He is a versatile player, being able to play most of the attackin ...

. He signed with Nordsjælland on loan in February 2009. In May 2009, José Junior threatened not to show up for the game between Nordsjælland and Copenhagen, because he refused to be a substitute. Nordsjælland manager

Morten Wieghorst Morten Wieghorst (; born 25 February 1971) is a Danish association football manager and former player. He is currently the assistant manager of the Denmark national football team. He is the former head coach of the Denmark national under-21 foot ...

subsequently announced that José Junior had played his last game for the club. On 23 November 2009, Júnior agreed with

to suspend his contract. It was then supposed that Júnior should sign with

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is List of cities and towns in Denmark, Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 64,511 ().Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and signed for Vitória in February 2010. Júnior helped Vitória reach the final of the

2010 Copa do Brasil The 2010 Copa do Brasil was the 22nd edition of the Copa do Brasil, starting on February 10 and ended on August 4. It was contested by 64 clubs, either qualified through their respective state championships (54) or by the Brazilian Football Confed ...

, scoring seven goals in the competition, including one against Santos in the final's second leg. Despite scoring eight goals for the club in

2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The 2010 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A was the 54th edition of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the top-level of professional football in Brazil. It began on May 8 and ended on December 5. Flamengo came as the defending champion having won th ...

, Vitória were relegated, and Júnior signed for

Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...

for the 2011 season. In June 2011, Júnior mutually agreed with Ceará to terminate his contract, foregoing the payment due, and signed for

Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

, where he remained until the end of the 2012 season. In February 2013, Júnior signed with

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, but an argument with successive coaches at the club led to him leaving in the summer. After spending the second half of 2013 without a club, Júnior signed a three-month contract with

side

Tiradentes Joaquim José da Silva Xavier (; 12 November 1746 – 21 April 1792), known as Tiradentes (), was a leading member of the Colonial Brazil, colonial Brazilian revolutionary movement known as the Inconfidência Mineira, whose aim was full i ...

, at the end of which he signed a short-term contract with

state side Juazeirense. He again signed a short-term contract with Juazeirense in March 2015, and scored the winning goal against

Colo Colo Colo-Colo (), officially Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo, is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano, it competes in the Chilean Primera División, from which the club has never been ...

that guaranteed the club a third-place finish in 2015 Campeonato Baiano, and access to 2016 Copa do Nordeste. On 20 February 2016, Júnior signed for Bahia state side Jacuipense for the remaining duration of the

2016 Campeonato Baiano The 2016 Campeonato Baiano is the 112th edition of Bahia's top professional football league. The competition began on 30 January 2016. Bahia are the defending champions having won their 46th title. Teams * Bahia * Bahia de Feira * Colo Colo * F ...

References

External links