JULIANO BELLETTI

Juliano Haus Belletti born 20 June 1976 in Cascavel, is a Brazilian footballer who is currently playing for Fluminense. He was awarded the Silver Ball by Placar for his consistently great performances for Atlético Mineiro during the 1999 Brazilian Série A. Belletti has Italian origins, his far relatives come from Longiano, a small village near Cesena, Emilia-Romagna.

Belletti started his career playing as a central midfielder in Brazil for the youth team of Cruzeiro in 1992. His professional debut happened in November 1994. In March 1996, he was involved in a deal that sent him and Serginho to São Paulo FC in exchange for five players: Aílton, Donizete, Gilmar, Palhinha and Vitor. Playing for São Paulo, he eventually became a right-back. He normally wears pinks socks.

In 1999, he was loaned to Atlético Mineiro. Playing as an attacking-midfielder, Belletti helped the club to finish second in the Brazilian League and managed to win a Silver Ball, award handed by Placar Magazine to the players nominated to the Brazilian League Squad of The Year (except for the best one, who takes a Golden Ball).

After returning to São Paulo, he became a regular in the Brazilian national team by playing in the right-back once again. Rumours linked him with a move to Spanish La Liga side Valencia CF in 2001, but the move fell apart at the last minute.[citation needed] In 2002, he finally moved to Europe with Villarreal CF. In 2004, after a successful spell at Villarreal, he signed for FC Barcelona where he became the first-choice right back and a key set-piece taker in the squad.

After winning the Spanish La Liga title in his first season, Belletti gradually fell out of favor both in Barcelona and in the national team. From being a regular in the 2004–05 season, he faced tough competition from the Catalan Oleguer Presas and spent his second season in-and-out of the first team.

Belletti scored his first and only goal with Barcelona in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. On 17 May 2006 at the Stade de France in Paris, Barcelona played English club Arsenal in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Oleguer was preferred to start rather than Belletti, and he had to make do with a place on the substitute bench. But when manager Frank Rijkaard brought him on for Oleguer, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 come-from-behind win which gave them the 2006 Champions League crown.

His third season was marked by injuries, and competition from new rival Gianluca Zambrotta proved too much for him. He played very little in Barcelona's season that ended without silverware.