Roberto Carlos- Biography

Roberto Carlos, also known as Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha, is a former Brazilian international who has won the FIFA World Cup with Brazil in 2002. Currently, the player works as an ambassador of the game. The player is considered as one of the best left-backs in the history of the game. Though he started his career as an attacking player, the player has been seen in the left-back position for most of his career and is considered as “the most offensive mindset left-back” in the history of the game.

Early Life

Roberto Carlos was born on the 10th of April in 1973 to Vera Lucia da Silva and Oscar da Silva in Sao Paulo of Brazil. Born in a poor family, the player had a very humble beginning. However, talent can shine anywhere. The player had a breakthrough when he broke into a Brazilian club called Atletico Minero.

The beginning of the talented and versatile player started in 1992 when Roberto Carlos got a national team call up despite him being only 19 years old. The player was energetic enough to kickstart his national team journey.

Club Career

Despite playing in the lower clubs initially, Roberto Carlos got a chance to tour with Atletico Minero where the player got his mettle tested in 2- games. However, he joined Palmeiras and played for two seasons. During his time at Palmeiras, he won two consecutive Brazilian League titles. Though he almost joined Aston Villa in 1995, he chose Nerazzuris over the PL team. In his one season, the player was considered a flop where Inter finished 7th in that season.

However, in 1996, Roberto Carlos joined Los Blancos in 1996 and the player immediately became the first choice left-back of the club. In 11 seasons, the player played 584 matches in which he scored 71 goals. Also, the player went on to become the most capped foreign-born player for Real Madrid. Roberto Carlos is also considered as one of the Galacticos signing of Florentino Perez.

In his 11 seasons with Real Madrid, Roberto Carlos won four La-Liga titles along with UEFA Champions League. Also, he won the “Club defender of the Year” award in 2002 and 2003 apart from featuring in the UEFA Team of the Year. After a glorious career at Santiago Bernabeu, the player signed a two-year contract with the Turkish Super Lig team, Fenerbahce. In his first match for the club, the team won the Turkish Super Cup against Besiktas by a score of 2-1. In his first stint at the Turkish League, he missed the thrilling part of the season where his team lost the trophy to Galatasaray by a small margin.

Further, the player went on to play for clubs like Corinthians, Anzhi in Russia where he proved to be a star addition and football promoter in the respective countries.

International Career

Roberto Carlos made it to the national side when he was just 19. Playing for the Brazilian national team, he appeared 125 times in which he scored 11 goals for the Brazilian national team. Also, he represented his national side thrice in FIFA World Cup apart from the 1996 Olympic Games and FIFA Confederations Cup.

The player is famous for a free-kick which is known as “Banana free kick”. During the free-kick, the ball boy who was 10 yards away ducked in, but the ball went inside the goal. In 2010, a team of French scientists produced a paper explaining the science behind it.

In 2002, Brazil won the FIFA World Cup and Roberto Carlos was named in the All-Star team. Also, he scored a goal against China in the World Cup. The victory of 2002 seemed like revenge for the 1998 World Cup final loss to France. However, the player retired in 2006 when Brazil lost to France in the World Cup.

Physical Traits

Achievements

Club Level:

Palmeiras

• Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (2): 1993, 1994
• Campeonato Paulista (2): 1993, 1994
• Torneio Rio-São Paulo: 1993

Real Madrid

• La Liga (4): 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07
• Supercopa de España (3): 1997, 2001, 2003
• UEFA Champions League (3): 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2001–02
• Intercontinental Cup (2): 1998, 2002
• UEFA Super Cup: 2002

Fenerbahçe

• Turkish Super Cup (2): 2007, 2009

International Level

• FIFA World Cup: 2002
• Copa América (2): 1997, 1999
• FIFA Confederations Cup: 1997
• CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament: 1996
• Umbro Cup: 1995
• Lunar New Year Cup: 2005
• 1996 Summer Olympics: Bronze Medalist