In 2001, he joined Division 1 side Lyon where he played for the next eight years, winning seven consecutive league titles and scoring 100 goals in 343 official appearances for the club.

[10] Following his departure from Lyon in 2009, Juninho played in Qatar with Al-Gharafa and in the United States with New York Red Bulls.

As well as often being ranked the world's greatest free kick exponent, Juninho was a noted passer, providing many assists, and his leadership abilities prompted Lyon manager Gérard Houllier to name him team captain.

[28] Juninho then scored a trademark free kick against Esporte Clube Bahia in the fourth round of the Campeonato Brasileiro; that goal was to be his 16th since returning to Vasco from Al-Gharafa.

[30] On 3 March 2013, Juninho made his official debut for the Red Bulls, playing the full time in a 3–3 draw against the Portland Timbers.

[31] On 17 April, during a 1-0 defeat while playing Sporting Kansas City, Juninho toe-poked the ball at opposition goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen as he was time wasting and received a straight red card and suspended for two matches.

Juninho played 16 games for Vasco in his third stint with the club, scoring 2 goals and making 7 assists in the Campeonato Brasileiro.

[18] Following his retirement, Juninho worked as a football commentator for Brazilian sports network Rede Globo, a stint that ended up in 2018.

In spite of a delayed flight to Montevideo, he managed to arrive in Uruguay in time to feature in the second half of the Copa Mercosur match between Vasco and Nacional.

He was however a member of the Brazil squad that won the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, scoring a free kick against Euro 2004 champions Greece.

In the 2006 FIFA World Cup Juninho scored a knuckleball goal in open play against Japan in a group stage match.

Through his early years at Vasco da Gama and his eight-year stint at Lyon, Juninho developed his knuckleball technique.

[43] A successful knuckle ball will "move" or "wobble" in the air unpredictably, veering in a number of different directions (making it difficult to save) before finding the net.

[44] Juninho has scored from free-kicks beyond 40 yards on a number of occasions: including against AC Ajaccio in 2006, against Barcelona in 2007, against OGC Nice in 2008, and a strike against Marseille in 2009—his final free kick goal for Lyon.

Juninho has also scored memorable goals for Brazil, the most famous being a curling freekick from 30 yards against Greece in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

[21] Juninho's free-kick style has been adapted by several other players, such as Andrea Pirlo,[45][46] Cristiano Ronaldo,[47] Didier Drogba,[48] and Gareth Bale.

[50] Much like King Arthur had Excalibur and William Tell his crossbow, the folk hero Juninho possessed his own special weapon to save the day — his legendary free-kicks.

No one.A talented right-footed midfielder, beyond his qualities as a set-piece specialist, Juninho was also known for his skill as an offensive playmaker, and for his ability to produce effective passes, which led him to getting assists on many of his teammates' goals throughout his career.

[47] He was also gifted with good technical ability and intelligence, as well as excellent vision and passing range, and powerful and accurate striking ability from distance; furthermore, he drew praise in the media for his tenacity, work-rate, composure under pressure,[51] strong character, and leadership, which saw him serve as club captain both at Lyon and Al-Gharafa.

[46] Juninho is one of the few footballers to publicly speak out against racism in the country, as well as criticize Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023.