Roberto Carlos

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Roberto Carlos started his career in Brazil as a forward but spent most of his career as a left-back. At club level, he 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. He 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. He was chosen for the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in a 2002 FIFA poll.

In Their Own Story

In March 2007, during the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Bayern Munich, Roberto Carlos failed to control a backpass when Madrid kicked off, allowing Bayern's Hasan Salihamidžić to steal the ball and feed Roy Makaay, who scored the quickest goal in Champions League history at 10.12 seconds. He bore the brunt of criticism for that mistake, which led to the team's elimination, 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. That goal proved crucial to Real Madrid winning its 30th league title as they 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.

Reader's Guide

Roberto Carlos began his professional career playing for União São João. In 1992, aged 19, he joined Atlético Mineiro on loan and went on the club's tour of Europe. In 1993, he joined Palmeiras, where he played for two seasons, winning two consecutive Brazilian league titles. After almost signing for Aston Villa in 1995, he chose a move to Inter Milan, 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. He joined Real Madrid in the 1996 close 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. 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. He 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, he was named as one of the club's "three captains" alongside Raúl and Guti. 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. 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, he 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. On 6 December 2003, he 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, he 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. 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 Hue

Did You Know?

• Roberto Carlos was runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1997 and runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2002.
• He scored a bending 40-yard free kick against France in the inaugural match of Tournoi de France 1997.
• He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances at clubs and international levels.
• He briefly came out of retirement in 2015 when he was appointed player/manager of Indian Super League club Delhi Dynamos.