Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), often recognized as Roberto Carlos () and sometimes RC3, is a Brazilian former professional footballer. He has been described as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the history of the game", and one of the greatest full-backs in history."Roberto Carlos: Brazil have a great chance". FIFA.com. 28 November 2013. In 1997, he was runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year and in 2002, was runner-up for the Ballon d'Or. He is primarily known for his long career at Real Madrid and constant presence on the Brazilian national team.
He started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his career as a left-back. At club level, Roberto Carlos joined Real Madrid from Inter Milan in 1996 to spend 11 highly successful seasons, playing 584 matches in all competitions and scoring 71 goals. At Real, he won four La Liga titles and the UEFA Champions League three times. In April 2013, Marca named him in their "Best Foreign Eleven in Real Madrid's History". He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances at clubs and international levels.
Roberto Carlos made his debut for the Brazil national team in 1992. He played in three World Cups, helping the team reach the final in 1998 in France, and win the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. He was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1998 and 2002. With Brazil, he is especially known for a bending 40-yard free kick against France in the inaugural match of Tournoi de France 1997. With 125 caps, he has made the fourth-most appearances for his national team."Appearances for Brazil National Team". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 12 June 2018 He was chosen for the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in a 2002 FIFA poll.
He took up management and was named as the manager of Sivasspor in the Turkish Süper Lig in June 2013. He resigned as head coach in December 2014. From January to June 2015, he was manager of Akhisarspor. Although he announced his retirement from playing at the age of 39 in 2012,"Roberto Carlos retirement confirmed". FIFA. Retrieved 2 June 2014 he briefly came out of retirement in 2015 when he was appointed player/manager of Indian Super League club Delhi Dynamos. Club career Early years Roberto Carlos began his professional career playing for União São João, a football club based in Araras in the state of São Paulo. In 1992, despite playing at what was seen as a lesser club and only being 19 years old, he was called up for the Brazil national team. In August 1992, aged 19, he joined Atlético Mineiro on loan and went on the club's tour of Europe. The tour consisted of the B team, as the club was prioritising the first Copa CONMEBOL in South America at the same time. The tour served as a test for many players, and those who stood out could be integrated definitively to the main group. Roberto Carlos did not participate in the first two games in Italy but played the full match against Lleida in Spain on 27 August in a match for the Ciutat de Lleida Trophy. He remained in the team for the next two games, held in Logroño, against Logroñés and Athletic Bilbao. Before retiring from football in 2014, Roberto Carlos thanked Atlético Mineiro for the opportunity.
In 1993, Roberto Carlos joined Palmeiras, where he played for two seasons, winning two consecutive Brazilian league titles.
Inter Milan
After almost signing for Aston Villa in 1995, Roberto Carlos chose a move to Inter Milan, in the Serie A, playing one season for the Nerazzurri. He scored a 30-yard free-kick on his debut in a 1–0 win over Vicenza but his season at Inter was unsuccessful, with the club finishing seventh in Serie A.
In an interview with FourFourTwo in a May 2005 issue, Roberto Carlos said that the then-coach of Inter, Roy Hodgson, wanted him to play as a winger, but Roberto Carlos wanted to play as a left back. Roberto Carlos spoke to Inter owner Massimo Moratti "to see if he could sort things out and it soon became clear that the only solution was to leave".
Real Madrid
Roberto Carlos joined Real Madrid in the year 1996 close season. When newly appointed manager Fabio Capello learned that Roberto Carlos had become transferable he barely could believe it, and he asked chairman Lorenzo Sanz to travel to Milan immediately. An agreement had been reached 24 hours later.Capello reveals how was Roberto Carlos signed for Real Madrid: "in 24 hours he was signed". Marca, 28 April 2021 Roberto Carlos was given the number 3 shirt and held the position as the team's first choice left-back from the 1996–97 season until the 2006–07 season. During his 11 seasons with Madrid, he appeared in 584 matches in all competitions, scoring 71 goals. In January 2006, he became Real Madrid's most capped foreign-born player in La Liga with 370 appearances, breaking the previous record of 329 held by Alfredo Di Stéfano.Roberto Carlos – An all-time Real Madrid great . Overlyzer, 08 December 2021 During his Real Madrid career, Roberto Carlos was, alongside Milan and Italy legend Paolo Maldini, considered the greatest left-back in the world. As a high-profile player and one of the most influential members of the team, Roberto Carlos was considered one of Madrid's Galácticos (which included Zinedine Zidane, Luís Figo, Ronaldo and David Beckham) during Florentino Pérez's first tenure as club president.
He won four La Liga titles with Madrid, and played in the 1998, 2000 and 2002 UEFA Champions League finals, assisting Zinedine Zidane's winning goal in 2002, considered one of the greatest goals in Champions League history. Roberto Carlos was named as Club Defender of the Year and included in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2002 and 2003. In the later part of his Real Madrid career, Roberto Carlos was named as one of the club's "three captains" alongside Raúl and Guti. Renowned for getting forward from his left-back position and scoring spectacular goals, in February 1998, he scored arguably his most memorable goal for Real Madrid with a bending volley struck with the outside of his left foot from near the sideline in a Copa del Rey match against Tenerife in what was described as an "impossible goal".
On the final day of the 2002–03 season, with Madrid needing to beat Athletic Bilbao to overtake Real Sociedad and win their 29th La Liga title, Roberto Carlos scored from a free-kick in the second minute of first half stoppage time to put los Blancos 2–1 ahead. The team eventually ran out 3–1 winners to wrap up the title. On 6 December 2003, Roberto Carlos scored the opening goal for Madrid as they beat Barcelona in El Clásico at Camp Nou for the first time in a La Liga match in 20 years.
In March 2007, in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Bayern Munich, Roberto Carlos failed to control the backpass when Madrid kicked off, allowing Bayern's Hasan Salihamidžić to steal the ball and feed to Roy Makaay, who scored the quickest goal in Champions League history at 10.12 seconds."Bayern Munich v Real Madrid: Champions League's greatest rivalry". The Telegraph, Retrieved 7 May 2014 Roberto Carlos bore the brunt of criticism for that mistake which led to the team's elimination from the Champions League, and, on 9 March 2007, he announced he would leave Real Madrid upon the expiration of his contract at the end of the 2006–07 season. His final goal for Real Madrid was a stoppage time winner against Recreativo de Huelva with three games remaining in the 2006–07 La Liga season. The goal proved to be crucial to Real Madrid winning its 30th league title as they eventually finished level on points with Barcelona, becoming champions via the head-to-head rule. Madrid clinched La Liga in Roberto Carlos's final match, a 3–1 win over Mallorca at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Fenerbahçe
On 19 June 2007, Roberto Carlos signed a two-year contract (with one year optional) with the Turkish Süper Lig champions Fenerbahçe; he was presented at the club's home ground, the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, in front of thousands of fans."Roberto Carlos joins Fenerbahçe". International Herald Tribune. 6 June 2007. In the first official match he played with the team, Fenerbahçe won the Turkish Super Cup against Beşiktaş by a score of 2–1. During a league match against Sivasspor, he scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe on 25 August 2007 from a diving header, which was only the third headed goal of his career. He was injured during the final period of the same season and missed the title race between Fenerbahçe and rivals Galatasaray. His team eventually lost the title to their rivals, while guaranteeing a place for themselves in Champions League knockouts for the next season. He announced that he was unhappy about the final result and would do his best to carry the domestic trophy back to the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium.
On 7 October 2009, Roberto Carlos announced that he would leave Fenerbahçe when his contract expired in December 2009. He offered to return to Real Madrid and play for free, though he also said return to the Brazilian domestic leagues was a possibility, and announced his departure on 25 November. He made his last appearance for Fenerbahçe on 17 December, as a late substitute against Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Europa League.
Corinthians After 15 years away from Brazil, Roberto Carlos returned to his country in 2010 to play for Corinthians, joining his friend and former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo. On 4 June 2010, Roberto Carlos scored a goal against Internacional and helped Corinthians to move to the top of the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A table. The Timão won the game 2–0. On 16 January 2011, Roberto Carlos scored an impressive goal directly from a corner kick against Portuguesa. Concerned with his safety after being threatened by fans after the Copa Libertadores da América defeat to Colombian club Tolima, Roberto Carlos requested his release by the club, which was promptly facilitated by Corinthians.
Anzhi Makhachkala
On 12 February 2011, after being heavily linked with a move to Notts County, Roberto Carlos signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Russian Premier League club Anzhi Makhachkala,"Roberto Carlos joins Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala". BBC Sport. 16 February 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011. worth approximately €10 million."Roberto Carlos hits two-year contract with Russian team". Globoesporte.com. 12 February 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2011. Playing in a defensive midfield position, Roberto Carlos was named captain of Anzhi on 8 March. On 25 April, he scored his first goal for Anzhi in a 2–2 draw with Dynamo Moscow, converting a 58th minute penalty. On 30 April, he scored his second goal, converting a penalty in a 1–0 win over Rostov, and on 10 June, he then scored his third goal on a 20th minute in a 2–0 win over Spartak Nalchik.
On 11 September 2011, Roberto Carlos scored his fourth goal in a 2–1 win over Volga Nizhny Novgorod. As of his first season for Anzhi, Roberto Carlos made 28 appearances and scored five goals. On 30 September, he became the caretaker coach of Anzhi following the sacking of Gadzhi Gadzhiyev, before Andrei Gordeyev assumed the role also in a caretaker capacity. Roberto Carlos announced his plans to retire at the end of 2012, but continued to work behind the scenes at Anzhi."Roberto Carlos to retire at end of year". Eurosport.yahoo.com. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2012. In August 2012, Anzhi coach Guus Hiddink confirmed his retirement at a news conference in Moscow, also stating, "Roberto was a world class football player. Every master's career ends at some point."
Cases in Russia