A look at Roberto Carlos' managerial record

Roberto Carlos is Delhi Dynamos’ marquee player-manager

After the appointment of former Venezuela boss Cesar Farias as manager by North East United FC and Nicolas Anelka as player-manager by Mumbai City FC, the Delhi Dynamos also announced their manager for the upcoming Indian Super League season - former Brazil international Roberto Carlos. Carlos, who is a World Cup winner with Brazil, has played 125 times for the Selecao and has also made 370 appearances for Real Madrid, along with stints at other famous European clubs such as Inter Milan and Fenerbahce.

He is a popular and well-known name in world football and will take charge of the Delhi-based franchise, who finished fifth in the inaugural edition of the ISL. In this article, North Campus Football League brings to you a look at his previous managerial stints.

Anzhi Makhachkala

In February 2011, Carlos was signed by Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala as a player after the purchase of the club by billionaire Suleyman Kerimov. However, a string of poor performances saw coach Gadzhi Gadzhiyev being sacked at the end of September 2011, and the club then appointed assistant coach Andrei Gordeyev as interim manager, along with Carlos, who was club captain then.

The duo managed the team until Yuri Krasnozhan was appointed as manager in the last week of 2011, and Carlos chose to stay on Anzhi and continued to work behind the scenes.

Carlos being unveiled as manager of Turkish club Sivasspor

Sivasspor

After a short break, Carlos was announced as manager of Turkish top division side Sivasspor in June 2013. Sivas, which is a major city in central Turkey, became home to Carlos’ first full stint as manager. This move was not taken well by the Sivasspor faithful due to their new manager’s lack of experience, but what was to follow that season might have made them think otherwise.

In his first season, he guided the team to an impressive fifth-place finish, which would have meant a place in next season’s Europa League, but was not possible as they were banned by UEFA from European competition. Sivasspor also reached the quarterfinals of the Turkish Cup that season, with Carlos also winning the Manager of the Month award in December 2013.

In the following season, Carlos was sacked by the Sivasspor board in December 2014, after a poor run of results. After 18 months in charge, the Brazilian legend was dismissed after his team lost 2-0 to Basaksehir, with the club second from bottom in the league table.

Akhisar Belediyespor

Just a week after leaving Sivasspor, Carlos signed a deal with another Turkish club Akhisar Belediyespor for the second half of the 2014-15 season and the 2015-16 season as an option. He took the role of the club’s technical director, after replacing departing manager Mustafa Resit Ackay. The club was in 11th place as he started his managerial duties, and had failed to win any of their previous seven games.

Carlos’ signing did not make the expected impact as the club finished in 12th place, 10 points off the relegation zone with 38 points out of the 34 games played. Out of the 18 games played under Carlos’ reign, the club won just five, losing seven and drawing the remaining six. At the end of the season, the club did not extend Carlos’ contract and are currently without a manager.

After the end of the season in Turkey, it was widely reported that Carlos had signed for Al-Arabi of the Qatari Stars League, which later fizzled out due to talks breaking down. Finally, on the 5th of July, it was officially announced that Carlos had signed as the head coach of the Delhi Dynamos for the 2015 season. We wish Carlos the best of luck!

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