[2] Having begun his career with Flamengo, he spent a decade playing in Europe[3] in service of Bayer Leverkusen and Roma before returning to Brazil with Internacional in 2012.

On 16 July 2012, Roma and Juan agreed to cancel his contract by mutual consent, which was set to end on 30 June 2013.

[6] On the same day, Juan signed a two-year contract with the club of Porto Alegre Internacional, with a one-year option.

He scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout at the end of the 2004 Copa América Final against Argentina in Lima.

[9] On 28 June 2010, Juan scored the first goal against Chile with a headed finish from a corner as Brazil won 3–0 to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.