Uilson de Souza Paula Júnior (born 27 April 1989), commonly known as Júnior Caiçara, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a full-back for Süper Lig side İstanbul Başakşehir.

Júnior Caiçara

Caiçara with Ludogorets in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Uilson de Souza Paula Júnior
Date of birth	(1989-04-27) 27 April 1989 (age 33)
Place of birth	São Paulo, Brazil
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Full-back
Club information
Current team	İstanbul Başakşehir
Number	80
Youth career
	Coritiba
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2012	Santo André	1	(2)
2009	→ CS Alagoano (loan)	2	(0)
2010	→ América-SP (loan)	4	(0)
2010–2012	→ Gil Vicente (loan)	56	(1)
2012–2015	Ludogorets Razgrad	83	(0)
2015–2017	Schalke 04	26	(0)
2017–	İstanbul Başakşehir	151	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 September 2022 (UTC)

Career

Santo André and loans

Caiçara's first professional club is Santo André. In 2009, he was loaned out to Brazilian team CS Alagoano. He did not make a league appearance for the team. In 2010 Caiçara was sent on loan to América-SP where he made his league debut on 14 January against São Bento.

In summer of 2010 he goes to Portugal team Gil Vicente again on loan from Santo André. He made his debut on 29 August against Trofense in the second Portugal league. He helped his team to gain promotion in the Primeira Liga and played with the team in their return in Primeira Liga.

Ludogorets Razgrad

After playing two seasons for Gil Vicente in Portugal, Júnior Caiçara joined Bulgarian side Ludogorets Razgrad on 5 June 2012.[1] He signed a three-year contract and was given the number 80 jersey.

On 11 July, Caiçara marked his debut for Ludogorets with a goal and first trophy. He opened the scoring in the 2012 Bulgarian Supercup against Lokomotiv Plovdiv, the match ended 3–1 to Ludogorets.[2] On 18 July, he made his European debut against Dinamo Zagreb in the second qualifying round of the Champions League. Then he made his Bulgarian A Group debut, playing full 90 minutes in a 3–0 away win over Cherno More Varna on 11 August. Caiçara quickly established himself as Ludogorets's first choice right-back, making 28 league appearances during his debut campaign in Bulgaria. He collected his first A group title winner's medal at the end of the 2012–13 season.

On 21 August 2013, Caiçara was sent off against Basel in a 4–2 home defeat in the play-off round of the Champions League, his first red card in a Ludogorets shirt.[3]

On 12 December 2014, Ludogorets announced that Caiçara had extended his contract with a new two-year deal that will keep him at the club until 2017.[4]

Schalke 04

On 25 June 2015, Caiçara signed with German club Schalke 04 on a three-year deal for a fee of €4.5 million.[5] He made his Bundesliga debut in a 1–1 draw with Darmstadt 98.

İstanbul Başakşehir

On 16 January 2017, Caiçara signed with Turkish club İstanbul Başakşehir F.K. on a 3.5-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[6] Three days later he made his debut for the team in the Turkish Cup coming as a substitute in the 61 minute in a match against Yeni Amasyaspor.[7] On 22 January, he completed his debut for the team coming as a substitute again in a match against Fenerbahçe in the Süper Lig.[8]

International career

Caicara is eligible for both Brazil and Bulgaria since on 1 July 2014 he got a Bulgarian passport and became able to play for Bulgaria from 2017. He said that he would be happy to represent Bulgaria on the international level.[9] On 25 February 2017, he mentioned again that he would represent Bulgaria if he got an invite since the old manager, Ivaylo Petev, wanted him, but he is waiting for a call from Petar Hubchev now.[10]

Career statistics

As of 18 April 2022[11]

Honours

Club

Gil Vicente

• Liga de Honra: 2010–11
• Taça da Liga Runner-up: 2011–12

Ludogorets Razgrad

• Bulgarian A Group: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15
• Bulgarian Cup: 2013–14
• Bulgarian Supercup: 2012

İstanbul Başakşehir

• Süper Lig: 2019–20[12]

References

External links

• Júnior Caiçara at Soccerway

На других языках

[it] Júnior Caiçara

[ru] Жуниор Кайсара