Roberto Carlos da Silva

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9 Feb 2024

Roberto Carlos da Silva

Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha born 10 April 1973, often known as Roberto Carlos and sometimes as RC3[n, is a retired Brazilian professional footballer. He has been hailed as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the history of the game and is considered one of the greatest full-backs in football history. In 1997, he was the runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Roberto Carlos is best known for his extensive career at Real Madrid and his consistent presence in the Brazilian national team.

He began his career in Brazil as a forward but spent the majority of it as a left-back. At the club level, Roberto Carlos joined Real Madrid from Inter Milan in 1996, where he enjoyed 11 highly successful seasons, participating in 584 matches across all competitions and scoring 71 goals. During his time at Real, he secured four La Liga titles and triumphed in the UEFA Champions League three times. In April 2013, Marca included him in their "Best Foreign Eleven in Real Madrid's History". He stands out as one of the few players to have amassed over 1,100 professional career appearances at both club and international levels.

Roberto Carlos made his debut for the Brazil national team in 1992. He participated in three World Cups, contributing to the team's journey to the final in 1998 in France and clinching the championship in the 2002 tournament held in South Korea and Japan. He earned a place in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in both 1998 and 2002. Particularly noteworthy is his iconic bending 40-yard free kick against France in the opening match of the Tournoi de France in 1997. With 125 caps, he holds the fourth-highest number of appearances for his national team. Additionally, he was selected for the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in a 2002 FIFA poll.

He transitioned to management and assumed the role of the manager for Sivasspor in the Turkish Süper Lig in June 2013. However, he resigned as head coach in December 2014. From January to June 2015, he served as the manager of Akhisarspor. Roberto Carlos officially announced his retirement from playing at the age of 39 in 2012.

Real Madrid

Roberto Carlos joined Real Madrid in the close season of 1996. When newly appointed manager Fabio Capello learned that Roberto Carlos was available for transfer, he could hardly believe it. Capello promptly urged chairman Lorenzo Sanz to travel to Milan, resulting in an agreement reached within 24 hours. Roberto Carlos was assigned the number 3 shirt and held the position as the team's primary left-back from the 1996–97 season until the 2006–07 season. Over his 11 seasons with Madrid, he participated in 584 matches in all competitions, scoring 71 goals. He stands as Real Madrid's most capped foreign-born player in La Liga, boasting 370 appearances. He broke the previous record of 329 held by Alfredo Di Stéfano in January 2006. Throughout his tenure with Real Madrid, Roberto Carlos, alongside Milan and Italy legend Paolo Maldini, was regarded as the greatest left-back in the world. Recognized as a high-profile player and one of the most influential members of the team, Roberto Carlos was considered one of Madrid's Galácticos, a group that included Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, Ronaldo, and David Beckham, during Florentino Pérez's initial term as club president.

Fenerbahçe

On 19 June 2007, Roberto Carlos inked a two-year contract (with an optional third year) with the Turkish Süper Lig champions, Fenerbahçe. He was officially introduced at the club's home ground, the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, in front of a multitude of fans. In his debut official match with the team, Fenerbahçe secured a 2–1 victory over Beşiktaş in the Turkish Super Cup. During a league match against Sivasspor on 25 August 2007, he netted his inaugural goal for Fenerbahçe with a diving header, marking only the third headed goal of his career. Unfortunately, he sustained an injury in the latter part of the same season, causing him to miss the title race between Fenerbahçe and rivals Galatasaray. While his team ultimately lost the title to their rivals, they secured a spot in the Champions League knockouts for the following season. Expressing his discontent with the final outcome, Roberto Carlos pledged to exert his best efforts to bring the domestic trophy back to the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.

Racism in Russia

In March 2011, during an away game against Zenit Saint Petersburg, a fan held a banana near Carlos while the footballer was participating in a flag-raising ceremony. Then, in June, during a match away at Krylia Sovetov Samara, Roberto Carlos received a pass from the goalkeeper and was preparing to make a pass when a banana was thrown onto the pitch, landing nearby. Carlos picked it up, threw it to the sidelines, and walked off the field before the final whistle. He raised two fingers at the stands, indicating that this was the second such incident since March.

Managerial career

In early 2012, Roberto Carlos had a brief stint as the interim manager at Anzhi Makhachkala. However, he later criticized the club when he resigned, along with manager Guus Hiddink.

Roberto Carlos was appointed as the manager of the Turkish Süper Lig team Sivasspor in June 2013. However, on 21 December 2014, he departed from the club following a defeat to İstanbul BB.

On 2 January 2015, Carlos was named the manager of Akhisarspor.

Odisha

After concluding his season in Turkey, Roberto Carlos initially signed for Al-Arabi in the Qatari Stars League. However, talks broke down, and he did not ultimately join the Qatari club. Subsequently, on 5 July 2015, it was announced that he had become the head coach of Odisha in the Indian Super League for the 2015 season.