Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos Biography

Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha, widely known as just as Roberto Carlos is a Brazilian former professional footballer.

He was born on 10th April 1973 in the town of Garca in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He mostly played as a left-back in defence and has been labelled the most offensive-minded left-back in the history of the game.

His left feet is the stronger one, and is something of a envy because of his ability to swerve the ball with a powerful shot.

A marauding left-back he dominated the left wing. He loved to go for overlaps, attacking at speed to deliver final balls that eventually led to goals. Technically adept, he was able to keep possession while attacking and even he did lose the ball, he would press the opponent immediately to regain possession.

Not the best defensively, he more than made up for it with considerable pace and speed, and a desire to regain possession with persistent pressing.

In 1997, he was elected as the runner up in the FIFA World Player of the Year, one of the only two left-backs to feature in the top two of the coveted award. He was named in the FIFA 100 list of the greatest living players by Pele in 2004.

Background

Not coming from a privileged family, he had to work at a textile factory as a 12 year old to support his family.

He started playing professional football for local club Uniao Sao Joao. Impressive performances saw him loaned to a bigger club, Atletico Mineiro with whom he travelled to Europe and got a chance to experience football at a higher level. He then moved to Palmeiras, where he became more of the player we knew, winning two consecutive league titles with them before moving to Europe.

Debut

He was selected to play for the national team when he was on loan to Atletico Mineiro in February 1992.

However, he did not make his debut until 3 years later, on 11th June 1995 in a friendly match against England.

He played the complete 90 minutes, as Brazil won the match 3-1. Carlos managed to get an assist on his debut, as he teed up Edmundo for the third goal.

However, this encouraging performance was not enough to cement a place in the national team. He only became a starter for Brazil after 1997.

Rise to Glory

Roberto Carlos rose to glory after his move to European giants Real Madrid in 1996. He immediately became their first choice left-back, a position he held for more than a decade.

But his real shot to fame came in 1997 playing for the Brazil national team in the Tournoi de France 1997 when he scored an outrageous free-kick with an impossible curve.

It is still considered the greatest free-kick in the history of football by many.

As years progressed he became better and better in his position, he was termed as a “Galactico” despite arriving before Florentino Perez’s tenure. He is Real Madrid’s most capped foreign-born player in La Liga with 370 appearances, even surpassing legend Alfredo Di Stefano.

Club Career

Throughout his career, Roberto Career has represented Uniao Sao Joao, Atletico Mineiro, Palmeiras, Inter Milan, Fenerbahce, Corinthians, Anzhi alongside Real Madrid in a career spanning nearly 20 years.

Achievements

He helped Brazil reach the World Cup final in 1998 where they lost to France. He guided Brazil to a World Cup in the next edition in 2002. He won the La Liga 4 times and the UEFA Champions League thrice with Real Madrid. He has also won the Copa America, Confederations Cup, UEFA Super Cup and many other accolades.

Retirement

Roberto Carlos essentially retired in 2012, playing for Anzhi, despite having played a handful of matches for Delhi Dynamos where he was primarily appointed as the head coach. He has had managerial opportunities at Anzhi, Sivasspor, Akhisar Belediyespor and Delhi Dynamos.