Juliana Ribeiro Cabral (born 3 October 1981), commonly known as Juliana Cabral or simply Juliana, is a Brazilian former footballer who played as a defender for the Brazil women's national football team. At club level she represented several leading teams in Brazil and Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC of the Swedish Damallsvenskan.

Juliana Cabral
Juliana Cabral celebrating the silver medal at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games
Personal information
Full name Juliana Ribeiro Cabral
Date of birth (1981-10-03) 3 October 1981 (age 43)[1]
Place of birth São Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+12 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
Pro Sport
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Saad
1997–2000 São Paulo
2003 Corinthians
2004 Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC 4 (0)
2006 Saad
2007 Jaguariúna [pt]
2008 Corinthians
International career
1996–2006 Brazil
Medal record
Representing  Brazil
Olympic Games – Women's Football
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Team Competition
Pan American Games – Women's Football
Gold medal – first place 2003 Santo Domingo Team Competition
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

After making her senior international debut as a 15-year-old, Juliana played for Brazil in the 1999 and 2003 editions of the FIFA Women's World Cup, and the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. At the 2004 tournament in Athens she captained Brazil's silver medal-winning team.

Club career

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As a child Juliana played street football with her brother, sometimes telling their disapproving mother that she was only taking part as the referee. At 10 or 11 years old she joined a team of footballing models run by the Flash Book modeling agency, which already contained Milene Domingues.[2][3]

She progressed to playing for Saad Esporte Clube at 14 years old,[4] then joined São Paulo FC where she won state and national titles.[5] She was disappointed when São Paulo FC closed their women's section in 2000:[6]

It was very sad, after Sydney the clubs closed their doors; sponsorships disappeared, and therefore the promoters of the championships. Our best players went to the U.S., and female football was almost extinguished here.

In February 2004 ambitious Damallsvenskan club Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC signed Juliana to a professional contract, part of a high-profile triple signing alongside Daniela and Hope Solo.[7] She made four league appearances in Sweden.[8]

She returned to Saad EC in October 2006, following a spell in the United States which had been disrupted by a foot injury.[9]

Juliana also represented Palestra, Corinthians, Vasco, São Bernardo and Jaguariúna at club level.[10] While playing for the latter in a training match against boys in April 2007 she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, which curtailed transfer negotiations she had been undertaking with English and Spanish clubs.[11]

In 2008 Juliana captained Corinthians and was unhappy when the club subsequently disbanded their women's section in March 2009.[12] The disappointment brought about her playing retirement from football.[13]

International career

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In 1996 Juliana debuted for the senior Brazil women's national football team as a 15 year old. She played in a 5–0 friendly win over Scotland at Estádio Parque São Jorge in December 1996.[14] Her first competitive cap came in a 12–1 win over Colombia at the 1998 South American Women's Football Championship on 5 March 1998.[15]

At the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Juliana was among eight players of Brazil's 20-player squad who were contracted to São Paulo FC.[16] She became a regular starting player as Brazil came third.[2] She was also a member of the Brazil team that participated in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and finished in fourth place.[17][18]

Juliana retained her place at the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, in a much-changed Brazil squad.[19] She was the captain and ever-present as Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-final by Sweden.[20] She was still the national team captain for the 2004 Athens Olympics.[2] She played in the 2–1 overtime final defeat by the United States, as Brazil collected silver medals.[21]

A serious knee injury sustained in April 2007 caused Juliana to miss the 2007 Pan American Games,[22] and ultimately the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Style of play

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Juliana characterised herself as a ball-playing but tough zagueira (transl. central defender), like Mauro Galvão or Carlos Gamarra.[23] She had started out as a midfielder, before being retrained as a defender by her Saad, São Paulo FC and Brazil coach Zé Duarte.[10]

Personal life

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Juliana is an activist athlete. After the 2004 Athens Olympics she organised a letter from the silver medal-winning team to the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), calling on them to improve the situation of women's football in Brazil.[6] Alongside her outdoor football career she also played futebol de salão for Associação Sabesp.[10]

At the 2007 Pan American Games, injured Juliana instead worked as a sports commentator for BandSports. She was happy to work alongside Silvio Luiz.[10] She continued to work as a commentator and sports journalist for several media outlets including RedeTV!, Rádio Globo and ESPN.[24]

Having returned to fitness, Juliana was disappointed to be left out of Brazil's squad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She felt the decision was a reaction to opinions she had voiced during her commentaries.[13]

References

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  1. ^ "Juliana Cabral". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL Medien GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Juliana" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Universo Online. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  3. ^ Knijnik, Jorge (May 2011). "From the Cradle to Athens: The Silver-Coated Story of a Warrior in Brazilian Soccer" (PDF). Sporting Traditions. 28 (1). Australian Society for Sports History: 63–83. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. ^ "Juliana Cabral" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Museu do Futebol. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  5. ^ "20 Anos – Campeonato Paulista de Futebol Feminino 1997" (PDF) (in Portuguese). São Paulo FC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b Knijnik, Jorge (21 September 2012). "Visions of Gender Justice: Untested Feasibility on the Football Fields of Brazil". Journal of Sport & Social Issues. 37 (1). SAGE Publications. doi:10.1177/0193723512455924. S2CID 144452615. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Stjärntrio till damallsvenskan" (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  8. ^ "2. Juliana Ribiero Cabral" (in Swedish). Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC. Archived from the original on 15 December 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Capitã da seleção de futebol volta jogar no Brasil" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Jornal A Tarde. 9 October 2006. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d Dantas, Gabriel (16 August 2014). "Entrevista com Juliana Cabral" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Blog do Gabriel Dantas. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  11. ^ Lopes, Lello (25 April 2007). "Lesão tira do Pan a capitã da seleção brasileira de futebol" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Universo Online. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  12. ^ Império, Bruno (10 March 2009). "Corinthians desfaz time feminino e deixa jogadoras desempregadas" (in Portuguese). Universo Online. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  13. ^ a b "Juliana Cabral (parte 2)" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Ludopédio. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. ^ Leme de Arruda, Marcelo (8 January 2022). "Seleção Brasileira Feminina (Brazilian National Women's Team) 1996-1998" (in Brazilian Portuguese). RSSSF. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Juliana". FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 October 2000. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  16. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup 1999 squads". FIFA. 1999. Archived from the original (TXT) on 17 December 2000. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  17. ^ "A esperança de gols" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Folha de S.Paulo. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  18. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Juliana Ribeiro Cabral". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  19. ^ "Brazil head in a "new direction"". FIFA. 11 September 2003. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  20. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003 - Technical Report" (PDF). FIFA Women's World Cup United States 2003. FIFA. 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 December 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
  21. ^ Garavello, Murilo (26 August 2004). "Brasil cai em jogo dramático e vê sonho de ouro virar prata" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Universo Online. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Juliana Cabral perderá Pan por causa de lesão no joelho" (in Brazilian Portuguese). O Estado de S. Paulo. 25 April 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  23. ^ Simon, Luis (11 June 2015). "Juliana Cabral: "Falta respeito e organização no futebol feminino"" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Universo Online. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  24. ^ de Castro, Luciane; Goellner, Silvana Vilodre (20 October 2020). "Mulheres insurgentes com Juliana Cabral e Vanessinha" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Ludopédio. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
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