Former Arsenal man Julio Baptista is ready for his next challenge

Former Brazil international Julio Baptista talks to Sky Sports about his time at Arsenal, his memories of the Premier League, and why he’s not planning to hang up his boots just yet.

The recent Star Sixes tournament in London featured former players in varying states of physical fitness, but amid the protruding bellies and tired legs, you could have been forgiven for thinking Julio Baptista was still at the peak of his powers.

The Brazilian looked every bit ‘The Beast’ as he hurtled around the O2 Arena’s artificial pitch and showed he can still strike a ball as sweetly as ever.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that Baptista is not even thinking about retirement. The 35-year-old has been a free agent since he was released by MLS team Orlando City in November. But as the new season draws closer, he says he is still on the lookout for his next challenge.
„I’m not finished yet,“ he tells Sky Sports in between games at Star Sixes. „My agent is looking for a team so I can keep playing a little bit longer. Let’s see what happens. Maybe it will be Spain. Maybe it will be China. We will have to wait and see.“

Baptista’s career has already taken him to five different countries in three different continents so far, but the season he spent on loan at Arsenal is what stands out to English football fans. It was in the summer of 2006, a year after Arsene Wenger had first tried to sign him from Sevilla, that the Brazilian joined the Gunners from Real Madrid in a swap deal with Jose Antonio Reyes.
Baptista, who boasted an excellent scoring record at Sevilla but struggled to settle at Madrid, was heralded as the man to add some much-needed power to a brittle Arsenal squad. He would return to Madrid having scored just three goals in 24 Premier League appearances – leaving Wenger to continue a seemingly endless search for steel – but his stay was not without its highlights.

The most notable came on Arsenal’s run to the League Cup final. Baptista’s four-goal blitz at Anfield inspired a memorable 6-3 win over Liverpool in the quarters. He then netted twice at White Hart Lane as Arsenal came from two goals down in the first leg of their semi-final with Spurs. Arsenal were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in the final, but Baptista remembers his stay fondly nonetheless.

„It’s a long time since I’ve been in London,“ he says with a smile. „It has been great to come back and see some old friends. I have very good memories of Arsenal. It was a very good experience. It’s a very competitive league, a different type of football for me, but I loved the time I had here.“
Therein lies the reason why Baptista did not fully meet expectations in the Premier League. It seemed the former Brazil international had all the physical attributes to take English football by storm, but he was not the first to find the transition from La Liga difficult and he would not be the last. That „different type of football“ can come as a surprise to anyone.

„It was quite a lot more physical in the Premier League,“ says Baptista, who described the „savage tackling“ in England when he faced Chelsea with Italian side Roma back in 2008. „In Spain they play more with the ball, moving it between the lines, but here it is more direct,“ he adds. „It is about finding what space you can and making lots of crosses. It’s direct and aggressive.“

Baptista’s comments echo those of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola last season. Klopp frequently bemoaned his opponents’ long-ball tactics, while Guardiola spoke with surprise about the importance of the second ball in the Premier League. „Even now, when football is changing, English football stays true to his traditions,“ says Baptista.
But while the style remains broadly the same, the competition has certainly ramped up since Baptista’s departure in 2007. „It’s super competitive,“ he says. „The difference I see with Spain is that in England there are six or seven very strong teams. Any of them can be champions. In Spain you have Atletico and Sevilla challenging Madrid and Barcelona, but it’s not the same.

„In England, if one of the big teams does badly, they get left behind,“ he continues. „That’s what happened to Arsenal last year. Arsenal, one of the biggest clubs in England, dropping out of the Champions League places… Imagine that!“

Baptista hopes to see his old club reclaim their place in the Champions League in the season ahead, but right now he is more preoccupied with his own fate. The Beast will turn 36 in October, but it’s clear that the appetite remains. „I’m not finished yet,“ he repeats. „I’m excited for what’s next.“Euro Soccer Bonus

Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.

This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.

The maximum bonus that you can receive is €100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.

If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:

Bet Type Bonus

14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus €100,000 or currency equivalent. Euro Soccer Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.

If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.

If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.

Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.

In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.

All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.

bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.