The legendary Brazilian transformed Lyon during a stay that brought the great 'knuckleball' to the wider world
There’s never been anyone better. For Juninho Pernambucano, the art of free-kick taking was a science, and one that Ligue 1 was fortunate enough to witness for eight years.
The ‘little king of Sao Januario’, Juninho joined Lyon in 2001 after six years at Vasco da Gama in his native Brazil that had brought two Brazilian league titles and a Copa Libertadores in 1998, the club’s first and only.
He arrived amidst little fanfare. In an age before mass internet use, even the most seismic of waves barely made a ripple on European shores; footage of the stunning free-kick that gave Vasco victory over River Plate in the second-leg of the Libertadores semi-finals was nowhere to be found in France.