Juninho Bacuna

Juninho Bacuna (born 7 August 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for EFL Championship club Birmingham City. He began his career in his native Netherlands with Groningen before moving to English football with Huddersfield Town. After one season in the Premier League and two in the second-tier Championship, he spent six months with Scottish Premiership club Rangers and then joined Birmingham City in 2022. In international football, he played for the Netherlands up to under-21 level before switching in 2019 to represent Curaçao, for which he qualified by descent.

Juninho Bacuna
Bacuna with Groningen in 2018
Personal information
Full name Juninho Bacuna[1]
Date of birth (1997-08-07) 7 August 1997
Place of birth Groningen, Netherlands
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Birmingham City
Number 7
Youth career
FC Lewenborg
2005–2006 GRC Groningen
2006–2015 Groningen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Groningen 82 (2)
2018–2021 Huddersfield Town 102 (12)
2021–2022 Rangers 6 (1)
2022– Birmingham City 73 (5)
International career‡
2015–2016 Netherlands U18 2 (0)
2016–2018 Netherlands U20 11 (0)
2018–2019 Netherlands U21 3 (2)
2019– Curaçao 25 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 09:34, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 09:34, 26 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Groningen

Bacuna is a Groningen youth exponent. He made his Eredivisie debut on 5 February 2015 against Heracles Almelo replacing Yoell van Nieff after 79 minutes in a 2–2 away draw.[3] He came off the bench to help the Green-White Army win the KNVB Cup in the 2014–15 season against defending champions PEC Zwolle. It was their first major trophy and they qualified for the UEFA Europa League.[4][5]

Huddersfield Town

Bacuna signed for Premier League team Huddersfield Town on 20 June 2018, for an undisclosed fee for three years, with the club having the option for a further season.[6]

On 27 October 2018, Bacuna made his debut in the Premier League in a 3-0 away defeat to Watford, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute.[7] On 16 March 2019, he scored his first goal for Huddersfield in a 4–3 defeat at West Ham.[8]

After relegation from the Premier League, Huddersfield started the 2019–20 season in the EFL Championship badly, only amassing two points from their first nine games. Bacuna scored the only goal in the game in Huddersfield's first win of the season over Stoke City on 1 October 2019.[9]

On 11 May 2021, Huddersfield exercised the option to extend Bacuna's contract until the end of the 2021–22 season.[10]

Rangers

On 19 August 2021, Bacuna signed for Scottish Premiership team Rangers.[11] The player was paraded to the club's supporters during the half-time interval of Rangers' Europa League play-off game against Alashkert.[12]

Birmingham City

On 27 January 2022, Bacuna returned to England when he joined Championship club Birmingham City on a three-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.[13] He scored his first Birmingham goal in a 3–0 win at home to Luton Town on 12 February.[14]

International career

Bacuna represented his native Netherlands at under-18, under-20 and under-21 levels. He played eleven matches for the under-20s, and three for the under-21s, and scored twice in a 4–1 win against Bolivia.[15][16][17]

He switched to represent Curaçao, for which he qualified by descent, in 2019.[18] He played four matches in that year's CONCACAF Nations League A group stage,[19] and once international football resumed after the COVID-19 pandemic, continued as a regular in the team.[20]

In September 2022, Bacuna played two friendly matches for Curaçao against the Indonesia national team in Indonesia. In the first, he scored in a 3–2 defeat.[21] In the second, he was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a bad tackle on Marselino Ferdinan. He reacted to the dismissal by kicking the ball towards spectators, who retaliated by throwing water bottles onto the pitch. After the match, Bacuna was targeted on social media with abusive messages, some of a racist nature. His club issued a statement condemning the abuse and confirmed that it had been reported to the social media platforms.[22][23]

Personal life

Bacuna is the younger brother of Leandro Bacuna, also a footballer.[24]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 25 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Groningen 2014–15[25] Eredivisie 12020—00—140
2015–16[26] Eredivisie 14010—1[lower-alpha 3]03[lower-alpha 4]0190
2016–17[27] Eredivisie 24100——2[lower-alpha 5]0261
2017–18[28] Eredivisie 33122———353
Total 83252—1050944
Huddersfield Town 2018–19[29] Premier League 2111010——231
2019–20[30] Championship 3861010——406
2020–21[31] Championship 4350010——445
Total 102122030——10712
Rangers 2021–22[32] Scottish Premiership 6110104[lower-alpha 3]0—121
Birmingham City 2021–22[32] Championship 172————172
2022–23[33] Championship4323000——462
2023–24[34] Championship1310022——153
Total 7353022——787
Career total 2642011262505029124
  1. Includes KNVB Cup, FA Cup, Scottish Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup, Scottish League Cup
  3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  4. One appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield, two in Eredivisie European competition play-offs
  5. Appearances in Eredivisie European competition play-offs

International
As of match played 17 October 2023[21]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Curaçao 201940
202182
202251
202381
Total254
Scores and results list Curaçao's goal tally first; score column indicates score after each Bacuna goal.
List of international goals scored by Juninho Bacuna
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref
125 March 2021Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao Saint Vincent and the Grenadines1–05–02022 FIFA World Cup qualification[35]
23–0
324 September 2022Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium, Bandung, Indonesia Indonesia2–22–3Friendly[36]
417 October 2022Ergilio Hato Stadium, Willemstad, Curaçao Trinidad and Tobago4–25–32023–24 CONCACAF Nations League A[37]

References
  1. "Premier League clubs publish retained lists". Premier League. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  2. "Juninho Bacuna". Huddersfield Town AFC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  3. "Heracles Almelo vs FC Groningen". Soccerway. Perform Group. 5 February 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
  4. "Groningen claim first trophy with KNVB Cup triumph". Goal.com. 4 May 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  5. "PEC Zwolle vs. Groningen". Soccerway. Perform Group. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  6. "Huddersfield sign Juninho Bacuna from FC Groningen". Sky Sports. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. "Watford 3–0 Huddersfield: Defeat sends Terriers to bottom of table". BBC Sport. 27 October 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  8. "West Ham 4–3 Huddersfield: Javier Hernandez double rescues West Ham". BBC Sport. 16 March 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  9. "Huddersfield beat bottom side Stoke". BBC Sport. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  10. Tomlinson, Adam (11 May 2021). "Retained List Confirmed". Huddersfield Town AFC. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  11. "Rangers transfer news: Juninho Bacuna joins Scottish champions from Huddersfield". Sky Sports. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  12. Thomson, Nick (19 August 2021). "Report: Morelos Goal Gives 10-Man Gers The Win". Rangers FC. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  13. "Juninho Bacuna is a Blue!". Birmingham City F.C. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  14. "Birmingham City 3-0 Luton Town 0". BBC Sport. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  15. "Juninho Bacuna: Jeugd mannen beloftenelftal". OnsOranje. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  16. "Juninho Bacuna: Jong Oranje". OnsOranje. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  17. "Oefeninterlands, Seizoen 2017/'18: Jong Bolivia 1–4 Jong Oranje". OnsOranje. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  18. Partington, Mikey (3 September 2019). "Bacuna on playing for his home country". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  19. "Juninho Bacuna: CONCACAF Nations League A 2019/2020". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  20. "Juninho Bacuna: Internationals". worldfootball.net. HeimSpiel Medien. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  21. "J. Bacuna". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  22. "Birmingham City's Juninho Bacuna Subjected to Social Media Abuse from Indonesia Fans". Football Tribe Asia. 2 October 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  23. Abbott, Matt (2 October 2022). "Birmingham City condemn racist abuse directed at Juninho Bacuna". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  24. "Ook tweede Bacuna wint de beker" [A second Bacuna wins the cup as well] (in Dutch). Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  25. "Bacuna, Juninho 2014/2015". FCGStats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  26. "Bacuna, Juninho 2015/2016". FCGStats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  27. "Bacuna, Juninho 2016/2017". FCGStats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  28. "Bacuna, Juninho 2017/2018". FCGStats.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  29. "Games played by Juninho Bacuna in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  30. "Games played by Juninho Bacuna in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  31. "Games played by Juninho Bacuna in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  32. "Games played by Juninho Bacuna in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
  33. "Games played by Juninho Bacuna in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  34. "Games played by Juninho Bacuna in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  35. "Curaçao secure solid win over St. Vincent and the Grenadines". Caribbean Football Union. 26 March 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  36. "Indonesia, Maldives triumph". The Asian Football Confederation. 25 September 2022. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  37. "Panama take down Guatemala to capture Group A". CONCACAF. 18 October 2023. Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
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