Julio Lopez (footballer)

Julio Gabriel López Venegas (born 4 November 1978), referred as Julio López, is a Chilean former footballer who played for clubs in Chile, Indonesia, Mexico and Switzerland.

Career
Lopez started his career in his country of birth with the clubs Barnechea, San Luis de Quillota and Magallanes. In 2002, he joined PSIS Semarang, he scored 16 goals for PSIS Semarang in a season.

On 2003 season, Lopez moved to Persib Bandung following the invitation from fellow Chilean Persib coach, Juan Páez. Lopez shone in first round together with Adrián Colombo as duet. He scored 7 goals for the Persib in the first round of 2004 Liga Indonesia Premier Division. In the second half of the season, Lopez's name disappeared from the player roster Persib Bandung because of his lack of discipline factor. So, he moved to Mexico and joined Atlante, being loaned to Potros Neza in the Primera División 'A', where he coincided with the Chileans Francisco Huaiquipán and Joel Soto. After a step in Switzerland with St. Gallen and FC Vaduz, in 2006 he returned to Chile and joined Universidad de Chile in the Chilean top flight, making 5 appearances.

Lopez then joined PSM Makassar. Despite being a new player, then coach Raja Isa did not hesitate to give him the captain's armband to replace Syamsul Bachri Chaeruddin. At club PSM Makassar, Lopez did not take long to adapt to the environment and new friends. The proof he was able to show increased performance in every appearance with PSM Makassar.

Entering the 2009 - 2010 season of ISL, Lopez joined in Persiba Balikpapan. He retired in 2013 playing for Persikabo Bogor, where he coincided with the Chilean Alejandro Tobar.

Personal life
Lopez played in Indonesia since 2002. He had played in Mexican, Europe and Chilean Leagues since 2004 before went back to Indonesia in 2008, he decided to quit the League of Indonesia for personal reasons. While living in Indonesia, he was called "J-Lo" by fans of Persib Bandung during his spell there and he also launched a sneaker brand with his name.