Juliano Belletti
Personal information
Full name	Juliano Haus Belletti
Date of birth	June 20, 1976 (1976-06-20) (age 33)
Place of birth	Cascavel, Brazil
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Right back / Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Chelsea
Number	35
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1993–1995 1995–2002 1999 2002–2004 2004–2007 2007–	Cruzeiro São Paulo → Atlético Mineiro (loan) Villarreal Barcelona Chelsea	022 0(0) 054 0(4) 017 0(5) 059 0(6) 070 0(0) 051 0(5)
National team2
2001–2005	Brazil	023 0(2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 12:39, 19 October 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 25 November 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Juliano Haus Belletti (born 20 June 1976 in Cascavel), is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Chelsea as a right back, although he can also play as a midfielder. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A.

[edit] Club career

He started his career playing in Brazil for Cruzeiro in 1992. In 1996, he moved to São Paulo FC where he cemented his place in the starting lineup. In 1999, he transferred to Atlético Mineiro who finished runners-up of the Brazilian League. Rumors linked him with a move to Spanish La Liga side Valencia CF in 2001, but the move fell apart at the last minute.^{[citation needed]} In 2002, he finally moved to Europe with Villarreal CF. In 2004, after a successful spell at Villarreal, he signed for FC Barcelona where he became the first-choice right back and a key set- piece taker in the squad.

[edit] Barcelona

After winning the Spanish La Liga title in his first season, Belletti gradually fell out of favor both in Barcelona and in the Brazilian national team. From being a regular in the 2004–05 season, he faced tough competition from the Catalan Oleguer Presas and spent his second season in-and-out of the first team.

Belletti scored his first and only goal with Barcelona in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. On 17 May 2006 at the Stade de France in Paris, Barcelona played English club Arsenal in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Oleguer was preferred to start rather than Belletti, and he had to make do with a place on the substitute bench. But when manager Frank Rijkaard brought him on for Oleguer, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 come-from-behind win which gave them the 2006 Champions League crown.

His third season was marked by injuries, and competition from new rival Gianluca Zambrotta proved too much for him. He played very little in Barcelona's season that ended without silverware.

[edit] Chelsea

On 23 August 2007, Chelsea officially announced that Belletti had signed a three-year contract after the player agreed personal terms and passed a medical.^[1] He made his Premier League debut for Chelsea on 25 August when he came on as a substitute for John Obi Mikel in the 64th minute of their home game against Portsmouth, the game ending 1–0 to Chelsea.^[2]

He made his first start for Chelsea against Aston Villa at Villa Park. Despite a strong debut, Chelsea lost the game 2-0. Following the departure of José Mourinho, Belletti became a regular starter in the right-back position for Premier League, Champions League, and Carling Cup games, facing competition from Paulo Ferreira and Michael Essien for his place in the team. In his first season at Chelsea, Belletti scored two goals, both shots from long-range, the first away at Wigan Athletic in November 2007 and the second at Stamford Bridge against Tottenham Hotspur in January 2008. The latter was eventually voted by Chelsea supporters as "Chelsea Goal of the Season" in 2007–08.^[3]

José Bosingwa's arrival at Chelsea at the start of the 2008–09 season caused Belletti to relinquish the right-back position at Stamford Bridge. However, Luiz Felipe Scolari instead deployed Belletti as a utility player, providing valuable back-up in the central midfield, defensive midfield and right wing positions. His long-range shots have given him cult status among Chelsea supporters. In October 2008, he added to his collection of spectacular goals with a powerful shot from 30 yards into the top corner against Middlesbrough at the Riverside, his fourth league goal for the club.^[4] Belletti scored his third goal of the 2008-09 season against Stoke City, to draw the teams level before teammate Frank Lampard scored the winner in the dying seconds.^[5]

[edit] Honours

Belletti during a match against Levski Sofia.

[edit] Cruzeiro

• Minas Gerais State Championship: 1996

[edit] Atlético Mineiro

• Minas Gerais State Championship: 1999

[edit] São Paulo

• São Paulo State Championship: 1998, 2000, 2002
• Rio-São Paulo Tournament: 2001

[edit] FC Barcelona

• UEFA Champions League: 2006
• La Liga: 2004-05, 2005-06
• Supercopa de España: 2005, 2006

[edit] Chelsea

• FA Cup: 2009
• FA Community Shield: 2009

[edit] Brazil

• FIFA World Cup: 2002

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juliano Belletti

• Juliano Belletti career stats at Soccerbase
• Belletti's profile and stats at FootballDatabase

Brazil squad v • d • e Brazil squad – Copa América 2001 1 Marcos • 2 Belletti • 3 Cris • 4 Roque Júnior • 5 Eduardo Costa • 6 Roger • 7 Geovanni • 8 Emerson • 9 Guilherme • 10 Juninho Paulista • 11 Denílson • 12 Dida • 13 Alessandro • 14 Luisão • 15 Juan • 16 Júnior • 17 Juninho Pernambucano • 18 Rochemback • 19 Fernando • 20 Alex • 21 Ewerthon • 22 Jardel • Coach: Scolari v • d • e Brazil squad – 2002 FIFA World Cup winners (5th title) 1 Marcos • 2 Cafu • 3 Lúcio • 4 Roque Júnior • 5 Edmílson • 6 Roberto Carlos • 7 Ricardinho • 8 Gilberto Silva • 9 Ronaldo • 10 Rivaldo • 11 Ronaldinho • 12 Dida • 13 Belletti • 14 Ânderson Polga • 15 Kléberson • 16 Júnior • 17 Denílson • 18 Vampeta • 19 Juninho • 20 Edílson • 21 Luizão • 22 Rogério Ceni • 23 Kaká • Coach: Felipão v • d • e Brazil squad – 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Dida • 2 Belletti • 3 Lúcio • 4 Juan • 5 Emerson • 6 Gilberto • 7 Ronaldinho • 8 Kléberson • 9 Adriano • 10 Ricardinho • 11 Gil • 12 Júlio César • 13 Maurinho • 14 Fábio Luciano • 15 Edu Dracena • 16 Kléber • 17 Eduardo Costa • 18 Dudu Cearense • 19 Adriano Souza • 20 Alex • 21 Ilan • 22 Luís Fabiano • 23 Fábio • Coach: Parreira