Juninho

Brazilian former football/soccer player, also known as Juninho Pernambucano, who played as a midfielder, and currently a football pundit. Noted for his bending free kicks, he is widely considered to be the greatest free kick-taker of all time and holds the record for the highest number of goals scored through free kicks with 77, ahead of the likes of Pelé (70), Víctor Antonio Legrotaglie and Ronaldinho (59 each), and David Beckham (50).

Juninho began his professional career in 1993 with Brazilian club Sport do Recife. Two years later he joined Vasco da Gama where he played over 100 matches and won no fewer than six titles. In 2001, he joined Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais where he played for the next eight years, winning seven consecutive league titles and scoring 100 goals in 350 official appearances for the club. Following his departure from Lyon in 2009, Juninho played in Qatar with Al-Gharafa and in the US with New York Red Bulls, with the latter stint wedged between two spells back at Vasco, where he ultimately retired in 2013.

Having made his international debut in 1999, Juninho played 40 games for the Brazilian national team and scored six goals. He represented Brazil at the 2001 Copa América and was part of the squad which won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup before retiring from international football after the 2006 World Cup.

Since 2013, Juninho has been a football commentator with Brazilian sports network Rede Globo.