Juliano Roberto Antonello or simply Juca (born 19 November 1979 in Passo Fundo), is a Brazilian defensive midfielder. He currently plays for Deportivo La Coruña.

[edit] Club career

Juca's career began in Brazil, and he played in his homeland with Internacional, Criciúma, Marília, Fluminense, Botafogo and Guarani.

On 15 June 2007, Juca completed his move to Partizan on a two-year deal. He scored his first competitive goal on 26 September 2007 in a Serbian Cup match against Rad in a 4–1 home win. His first season in Serbia was a success with Juca helping Partizan win the Serbian SuperLiga and Serbian Cup titles. In his second season at Partizan, Juca appeared 18 times and scored two goals.

In early June 2009, he moved to Spain on a free transfer to play for Deportivo La Coruña. He has signed a contract which will keep him at the club until June 2011. Juca made his La Liga debut on 29 August 2009 against Real Madrid. He scored his first goal for the club against Xerez, and Deportivo won the game 3–0.

[edit] International career

After his time in Serbia, there has been speculation he may represent the Serbia national football team, saying that "It would be an honour to play for Serbia at 2010 World Cup". This was raised following his impressive start in La Liga.^[1]

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Honours

[edit] Club

[edit] Criciúma

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série B: 2002

[edit] Partizan

• Serbian SuperLiga: 2007–08, 2008–09
• Serbian Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Juca at sambafoot.com