Ave Cesar! Cultured Goalkeeper Signs for Toronto FC!



When Brazilian national team coach Luis Felipe Scolari "suggests" you should get competitive playing time, you should take the hint.

 With former Inter shot stopper Julio Cesar sitting idle at Queen's Park Rangers (collecting only one club appearance this season), Scolari hinted that Cesar get ship-shape for the World Cup by signing for a Major League Soccer (MLS) club.

 The MLS represented one of the last options available to Julio Cesar for playing top flight soccer. In summer 2013 it became clear that Julio Cesar would not be a permanent fixture in QPR's starting eleven, due in part to his 2.5 million GBP annual salary.  

 Attempts to sign the Brazilian by SSC Napoli and AFC Fiorentina failed in the 2013 summer transfer window as the clubs were unable to find an agreement on wages, and (in Napoli's case) image rights.  

 The January transfer window proved just as fruitless, leaving Julio Cesar with limited options to play competitive club soccer, with Turkey, Russia, China and the MLS the remaining domestic leagues with open transfer windows. That's when Scolari's "hint" became public.

 At this point it became clear that in order to remain Brazil's numero um Julio Cesar had to play competitive soccer leading up to the 2014 World Cup that will be hosted by his native country. Days before the deal became official, Scolari had pointed to the MLS as a competitive league for Julio Cesar to ply his trade. 

 And so it came to pass that Julio Cesar, 34 year-old goalkeeper from Douque de Caixa signed for Toronto FC, bolstering what has been a tremendous transfer campaign by TFC General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko. 

 At the press conference that introduced the Brazilian to Toronto Bezbatchenko stated "We are committed to creating a culture of winning at TFC, and there are a few people in world soccer with a proven track record of consistently getting results that Julio has. We are very excited to bring him to Toronto FC".

 A promising future just got brighter for TFC with Julio Cesar's arrival. 

 Júlio César, 34, joined QPR in August 2012 and made a combined 27 total appearances for the club in two seasons. His professional career began with Brazilian side, Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (Flamengo) in 1997. He spent eight seasons with Flamengo, and made a combined 130 appearances and won the Campeonato Carioca four times (’99, ’00, ’01, ’04). The club also won another six trophies during his time at Flamengo. 

 Júlio César joined Italian club, A.C. Chievo Verona on loan through F.C. Internazionale Milano (Inter Milan) in January 2005 but did not make an appearance for the club. In July 2005, he moved to Inter Milan on a permanent deal. In seven seasons with Inter Milan, Júlio César made a combined total of 300 appearances across all competitions, winning 14 trophies including five Scudetti (Italian league titles), the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League, the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup, three Coppa Italia titles (’05-’06, ’09-’10, ’10-’11), and four Supercoppa Italiana titles (’05, ’06, ’08, ’10). Júlio César was named Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year on two occasions (’08-’09 and ’09-’10), along with UEFA Club Goalkeeper of the Year for 2009-10. 

 He was also nominated for the Ballon d’Or award in 2009.



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