{{short description|Brazilian footballer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Juca Baleia | fullname = Juvenal Marinho dos Passos | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|5|3|df=yes}} | image = | birth_place = São Luís, Brazil | height = 1.85 m | position = Goalkeeper | youthyears1 = 1976–1978 | youthclubs1 = Sampaio Corrêa | years1 = 1979 | clubs1 = Expressinho | caps1 = | goals1 = | years2 = 1980 | clubs2 = Tupan | caps2 = | goals2 = | years3 = 1981–1988 | clubs3 = Maranhão | caps3 = | goals3 = | years4 = 1989 | clubs4 = Bacabal | caps4 = | goals4 = | years5 = 1990–1993 | clubs5 = Sampaio Corrêa | caps5 = | goals5 = | years6 = 1994 | clubs6 = Expressinho | caps6 = | goals6 = | manageryears1 = 2014 | managerclubs1= Expressinho | manageryears2 = 2017 | managerclubs2= Santa Quitéria (youth sectors) | manageryears3 = 2019 | managerclubs3= Santa Quitéria (director of football) | pcupdate = 11 September 2023 }}
'''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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://terceirotempo.uol.com.br/que-fim-levou/juca-baleia-2199 |title=Que fim levou? Juca Baleia |website=Terceiro Tempo |access-date=11 September 2023 |language=pt |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630220615/https://terceirotempo.uol.com.br/que-fim-levou/juca-baleia-2199 |url-status=live }}</ref>
==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" ({{langx|en|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://imirante.com/esporte/sao-luis/2022/06/14/um-goleiro-de-peso-a-trajetoria-e-curiosidades-de-juca-baleia |title=Um goleiro de peso: a trajetória e curiosidades de Juca Baleia |website=Imirante Esportes |date=14 June 2022 |language=pt |archive-date=30 August 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250830075025/https://imirante.com/esporte/sao-luis/2022/06/14/um-goleiro-de-peso-a-trajetoria-e-curiosidades-de-juca-baleia |url-status=live }}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/futebol/ultimas-noticias/2013/01/18/ex-goleiro-gordo-juca-baleia-ajuda-atletas-no-maranhao-e-diz-que-jogava-melhor-com-115-kg-do-que-magro.htm |title=Famoso por jogar com até 115kg, ex-goleiro ajuda atletas e relembra combates com Palmeiras |website=UOL Esporte |date=18 January 2013 |access-date=11 September 2023 |language=pt |archive-date=16 April 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250416162449/https://www.uol.com.br/esporte/futebol/ultimas-noticias/2013/01/18/ex-goleiro-gordo-juca-baleia-ajuda-atletas-no-maranhao-e-diz-que-jogava-melhor-com-115-kg-do-que-magro.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
Juca was coach of Expressinho in the 2014 Second Level conquest, and in the following years he started working at Santa Quitéria.
{{blockquote|"I beat the law of physics" - Juca Baleia}}
==Honours== ===Player=== '''Sampaio Corrêa''' *Campeonato Maranhense: 1990, 1991, 1992
===Manager=== '''Expressinho''' *Campeonato Maranhense Second Division: 2014<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ge.globo.com/ma/video/com-juca-baleia-expressinho-conquista-o-acesso-no-campeonato-maranhense-3612145.ghtml |title=Com Juca Baleia, Expressinho conquista o acesso no Campeonato Maranhense |website=GloboEsporte |access-date=11 September 2023 |language=pt}}</ref>
==See also== *Serjão, another Brazilian goalkeeper famous for being overweight.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://www.ogol.com.br/player.php?id=423106 Juca Baleia] at ogol.com.br *{{youTube|G2yesao89S4|Juca Baleia Video}} *{{youTube|N_oGQWAl8M0|Juca Baleia, goleiro do Sampaio Corrêa}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baleia, Juca}} Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:Men's association football goalkeepers Category:Brazilian men's footballers Category:Brazilian football managers Category:Sampaio Corrêa Futebol Clube players Category:Maranhão Atlético Clube players Category:Footballers from São Luís, Maranhão Category:20th-century Brazilian sportsmen