Julio Cesar’s national career was in jeopardy when the club he played for, a certain Premier League club Queens Park Rangers was relegated to the second division. He was locked out of his team and had no game time as the World Cup was fast approaching. Fast forwarding to the present, the 34-year old gave an immensely satisfying performance that paved the way for his country to progress into the Quarter Finals of the World Cup.
The Brazilians were dominated in terms of possession by their South American counterparts as they had a superior 52 % possession over the much stronger Selecao side. The Chileans frustrated the Scolari side with their nearly flawless defense that kept clearing the ball every time it came 0into their half. The home side was unimpressive pretty much the whole of the game but somehow the heroics of their goalkeeper saved them from the brink of a defeat.
The Toronto FC shot stopper made two critical penalty saves off of attempts by Mauricio Pinilla and Alexis Sanchez that gave his team a much needed breather. David Luiz, Marcelo and Neymar converted the penalties successfully while Willian’s attempt went off target and Hulk attempt was blocked by Bravo.
Cesar spoke to Sportv after the match and said: “I gave an interview four years ago and I cried (Brazil was knocked out by Netherlands). I was very sad but now I am crying because I am happy.”
"Only God and my family know what I went through and I still do. My team-mates gave me a lot of support to do my best. I hope to give more interviews like this, this is my dream," concluded the Brazilian star.
Here’s a video of Cesar’s beautiful saves that kept Brazil’s chances in the World Cup alive.
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