Where is he now? Update on former Arsenal striker who once destroyed Liverpool - Julio Baptista

Julio Baptista

Sandwiched between his two Brazilian clubs, first São Paulo and now Cruzeiro, Júlio Baptista played for a host of Europe’s top sides, including Arsenal, Roma, Sevilla, and Spanish giants Real Madrid.

To many British fans, he will be remembered for his four goals in a League Cup tie against Liverpool back in 2007 for Arsenal.

Baptista was occasionally referred to as “a Fera de Sevilha” (the beast of Sevilla) whilst playing for his first European club, and this is a good indication of his style of play when at he’s at his bruising best.

The powerful forward’s goalscoring feats in Seville couldn’t be matched at any of his subsequent European clubs, but he seems to have rediscovered his eye for goal since landing back in Brazil.

Having just turned 32-years-old, he’s hardly over the hill in the way many old stalwarts are when they return to Brazil, and in the limited number of appearances he has made for Cruzeiro, he’s showed everyone what he’s capable of.

Baptista has made only five appearances in the league this season, but has still managed to score four goals. Two with his left foot, and two with his right.

He scored two vital goals after coming off the bench in his team’s important fixture against fellow title challengers Botafogo, which put his side in a prime position to win this season’s Brazilian Serie A title.

Baptista’s shot accuracy in these game is perhaps skewed by his relatively few minutes on the pitch, but having nine of your ten shots hit the target is still an impressive stat and gives Cruzeiro fans plenty to look forward to once he gets fully fit and into the side more regularly.

A returning Júlio Baptista could be important for his side during the last quarter of the season as they look to clear the final hurdles and secure their third Brazilian Championship, and their first since 2003.

The tough schedule in the Brazilian league this year, thanks in part to the squeezing in of games before and after the Confederations Cup, has meant that squad depth has been important, but so has experience and the ability to not lose focus once at the top of the table as Botafogo did.

Having a Brazilian international in their ranks, with almost 50 caps and experience at a whole host of top European sides, will surely help Cruzeiro secure the title.