Juca Baleia

Juvenal Marinho dos Passos (born 3 May 1959), better known by the nickname Juca Baleia, is a Brazilian former professional footballer and manager who played as a goalkeeper.^[1]

Juca Baleia

Personal information
Full name	Juvenal Marinho dos Passos
Date of birth	(1959-05-03) 3 May 1959 (age 66)
Place of birth	São Luís, Brazil
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1976–1978	Sampaio Corrêa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979	Expressinho
1980	Tupan
1981–1988	Maranhão
1989	Bacabal
1990–1993	Sampaio Corrêa
1994	Expressinho
Managerial career
2014	Expressinho
2017	Santa Quitéria (youth sectors)
2019	Santa Quitéria (director of football)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 11 September 2023

Career

Juca started in the youth teams of Sampaio Corrêa, but it was at rival Maranhão where he played most of the 1980s. Due to the problems he faced with being overweight (weighed around 120 kg), he gained the nickname "Juca Baleia" (English: Whale). At this time, he claimed that his good performance in goal decreased whenever he tried to lose weight. In 1990 he left folklore to shine at the club that revealed him, Sampaio Corrêa, becoming three-time state champions.^[2]

In 1992, he became nationally known after a great performance in a match against Palmeiras, at the 1992 Copa do Brasil. Juca treasures goalkeeper Carlos Gallo's shirt, received as a gift on that occasion.

Juca was coach of Expressinho in the 2014 Second Level conquest, and in the following years he started working at Santa Quitéria.

"I beat the law of physics" - Juca Baleia

Honours

Sampaio Corrêa

• Campeonato Maranhense: 1990, 1991, 1992

Expressinho

As manager

• Campeonato Maranhense Second Division: 2014^[3]

See also

• Serjão, another Brazilian goalkeeper famous for being overweight.