Roberto Carlos

Roberto Carlos info & bio

Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973), often known 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. In 1997, he was runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year. He is primarily known for his long career at Real Madrid and ever-presence in 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 club and international level.

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. He was chosen on 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. He announced his retirement from playing at the age of 39 in 2012. He briefly came out of retirement in 2015 when he was appointed player/manager of Indian Super League club Delhi Dynamos.