In this Portuguese name, the second or paternal family name is Roque. "Júnior" is a generational suffix used for someone whose name is the same as their father, like "Jr." in English.
José Vítor Roque Júnior (Brazilian Portuguese:[ˈʁɔkiˈʒunjoʁ]; born 31 August 1976), more commonly known as Roque Júnior, is a Brazilian football pundit [1] and former player who played as a defender.
There was excitement at Elland Road when Peter Reid brought Roque to Leeds on loan, but it was short lived as the team conceded 25 times in his seven appearances, failing to win and suffering six defeats with Roque being sent off on his home debut against Birmingham City. However, he did score two goals in a League Cup game against Manchester United (Leeds lost 3–2) but his spell at Leeds was not considered a success.[5][6]
In September 2008, Palmeiras have signed him from Al-Rayyan on loan until the end of the season.[7]
After leaving Palmeiras in November 2008, he was offered to Australian A-League clubs in April[8] and was in talks with Avaí gaffer Paulo Silas in July,[9] but nothing materialised out of it. In February 2010, Ituano signed the former Brazil international, who had last played in 2008 for Palmeiras.[10]
International career
Roque Júnior was successful on the international stage for Brazil, having played 48 games (two of them unofficial)[clarification needed] and scored two goals, and also captaining them on a number of occasions. He was a starter in the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning campaign, forming the back line with Lúcio and Edmílson.[11] He was later called up for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, but did not make it into the squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup due to injury.[12] He made his last international appearance in 2005 and announced his retirement on 4 September 2007.