Julio Baptista: These are the games that changed my life

May 23, 2004: Sevilla 1-0 Osasuna

I scored a lot of goals during my first season with Sevilla, but probably the most important was against Osasuna, who ended up with three red cards! The win secured a spot in the UEFA Cup for the club, for the first time in nine years. In the second half Dani Alves crossed, the ball fell at my feet and I scored.

January 9, 2007: Liverpool 3-6 Arsenal

What a crazy game this was – I scored four goals and missed a penalty! The atmosphere was amazing and at the end Liverpool fans applauded me, even though I helped to eliminate their team from the League Cup. That is why I love the English game, and I’ve still got that image inside my head.

July 15, 2007: Brazil 3-0 Argentina

The most memorable game of my life had happened three years earlier in the Copa America final against Argentina. I didn’t play: Argentina were 2-1 ahead in stoppage time but Adriano equalised and we won on penalties.

In the 2007 final I played, scored the opening goal and won my second trophy with Brazil. They had a team for the ages – Messi, Tevez, Veron – while we were missing key players. We shocked the world.

December 23, 2007: Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid

The most important goal I scored for Real was the one that gave us a win at the Camp Nou. It was a beautiful goal. Many considered Barcelona as the best team in the world. They had Ronaldinho in his prime. Nobody gave us a chance, but we beat them and went on to win the title – it was a huge achievement.

This feature originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of FourFourTwo. Subscribe!

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