Júnior Baiano


Raimundo Ferreira Ramos Jr. is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Career

Club

Born in Feira de Santana, Júnior Baiano began his career in the late 1980s, playing with Flamengo in the Campeonato Brasileiro. Over the course of the next 15 years Júnior Baiano's career took him to Germany, China, and all over Brazil. He is most remembered in Germany for the ten-match ban he received after punching an opponent in a game, which caused his club Werder Bremen to cancel his contract. He won the Campeonato Carioca twice in two stints with Flamengo in 1991 and 2004, as well as the Copa do Brasil and the Campeonato Brasileiro. He also won the Copa Conmebol and the Recopa Sul-Americana with São Paulo in 1994, and the Copa Libertadores with Palmeiras in 1999.
He retired at the end of 2005, but in December 2006 he signed a professional contract with América from Rio de Janeiro to defend the club in Rio State Championship in the beginning of 2007. Baiano signed a contract with Brasiliense to play Série B Brazilian League in 2007.
After a brief stint with Volta Redonda in 2009, he signed with Miami FC of the USL First Division, which is coached by his former Brazilian national team teammate Zinho.

International

Júnior Baiano earned 25 caps with the Brazilian national team in 1997 and 1998, and was a member of the Brazil squad which took part in the 1998 World Cup, the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and which won the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup. During the 1998 World Cup Baiano played a key role in the Brazil squad which reached the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final in Paris, although in the match against Norway which Brazil lost 2–1, he lost a "trial of strength" with Tore André Flo immediately before the striker hit the ball beyond the reach of Claudio Taffarel.

Honours

Club