Top 10 South Americans to have succeeded in Europe in modern day football

#5 Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos with the three Champions League titles he won with Real Madrid

Club Honours

Real Madrid: La Liga (1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007), Supercopa de Espana (1997, 2001 and 2003), UEFA Champions League (1998, 2000 and 2002), Intercontinental Cup (1998 and 2002) and UEFA Super Cup (2002), Fenerbahce: Turkish Super Cup (2007 and 2009)

Roberto Carlos has to be one of the most attack minded left backs in the history of the game.

His first club in Europe was Internazionale, where he spent just one year due to a clash of opinions with manager Roy Hodgson after which he joined Real Madrid. Carlos quickly established himself as the first choice left back and held the position till his departure, eleven years later in 2007. Carlos scored some important and sensational goals during his stay at the Spanish capital, the most important one was probably his last goal for the club.

With three games remaining in the league, Carlos scored an injury time winner against Recreativo de Huelva. The goal proved to be crucial as Madrid were level on points with Barcelona at the end of the season and clinched their 30th league title thanks to a better head to head.

After leaving Real, he joined Turkish side Fenerbahce and later returned to Brazil. Carlos eventually returned to Europe to play for Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in his last season as a professional footballer.

Carlos is well known for some of his traits as a player. He possessed immense speed and his thighs measured 24 inches. His most famous skill is his free kick ability. The Brazilian took powerful bending free kicks and has managed to even score a goal directly from a corner. The most famous one out of his many brilliant free kicks was the one he scored against France in 1997.

After retirement, Carlos continued at Anzhi as an assistant manager, and currently he is the manager of Turkish club Sivasspor.