Julio Dos Santos - Club Career

Club Career

Dos Santos started his professional career with Cerro Porteño, before eventually moving to FC Bayern Munich of Germany, in January 2006. He was elected Paraguayan Footballer of the Year in 2005 by national newspaper Diario ABC Color. Upon his arrival in Munich, he was touted as a long-term successor to Michael Ballack, but faced stiff competition from Iran's Ali Karimi. Eventually, both players struggled to break into the starting lineup.

In the first half of 2006–07, Bayern's leadership publicly stated its impatience with Dos Santos' progress. Club coach Felix Magath said: "It is clear that Julio's development does not please us, It does not make sense to keep a player at the club who does not create". This led to widespread rumours of his departure from the club; the speculation ended in December 2006, when Bayern announced they had reached a deal to send the player on loan to fellow Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg for the remainder of the season. Having failed to break into Wolfsburg's first team (mainly due to a major injury), he returned to Bayern in June.

However, after the arrivals of Franck Ribéry, Hamit Altıntop, José Ernesto Sosa and Zé Roberto, it soon became clear that he would again struggle to find a place in the first team. Ottmar Hitzfeld, who had replaced Magath as Bayern manager by that time, stated that the club sought to sell dos Santos. Therefore, he would split 2007-08 between UD Almería (with no first-team appearances) and Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense.

In June 2008, dos Santos signed with Clube Atlético Paranaense, also from Brazil.

In June 2009, Julio went back to his original club Cerro Porteño to play the 2009 Clausura and Copa Sudamericana.