Júlio César Soares de Espíndola (born 3 September 1979), commonly known as simply Júlio César, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper for Internazionale of the Italian Serie A. He is also currently the first-choice goalkeeper for the Brazilian national team, having won 63 international caps.
In 2009, IFFHS named him as the third best goalkeeper in the world, behind only Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon. He has also been awarded the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year title in 2009 and in 2010. He was nominated for the 2009 Ballon d'Or and was voted into 21st place; Casillas was the only other goalkeeper nominated.
He joined up with the Inter squad for the 2005–06 season and was expected to be second choice goalkeeper behind Francesco Toldo. His first game for the team was spent on the bench as Inter won the Supercoppa Italiana. He soon established himself ahead of Toldo, however, as the team's first choice, as Inter went on to finish third in Serie A, behind only Juventus and city rivals Milan, but were later awarded the title due to the sanctions imposed following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal.
In July 2009, Júlio César was chosen by ESPN Brasil as the best player of the 2008–09 season. He also received the Prêmio Futebol no Mundo (Football in the World Award).
In November 2009, he signed a contract with Inter which will last until 2014, adding two more years to his contract. His impressive form for the Nerazzuri has earned him praise from former Inter and Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca, who stated his belief that Júlio César is the best goalkeeper in the world. He has also earned praise from Italy legend Dino Zoff and team-mate Francesco Toldo. On 24 January 2010, Julio Cesar made a crucial penalty save from Brazilian teammate Ronaldinho, as a nine-man Inter squad won 2–0 against Milan in a traditional Derby della Madonnina match.He has been named Serie A goalkeeper of the year in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
