Roberto Carlos

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…

Roberto Carlos amassed 125 appearances, scoring 11 goals for the Brazilian national team. He represented Brazil at three FIFA World Cups, four Copa América tournaments, the 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 1996 Olympic Games.

Early senior career

On 26 March 1992, Roberto Carlos debuted for the Brazilian senior team in a 3–0 friendly victory against the United States. He is especially famous for a bending 40-yard free kick against France in the inaugural match of the 1997 Tournoi de France on 3 June 1997. The ball curled so much that the ball boy ten yards to the right ducked instinctively, thinking that the ball would hit him. Instead, much to the surprise of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez – who just stood in place – it curled back on target. This particular attempt has been considered to be the greatest free kick of all time. In 2010, a team of French scientists produced a paper explaining the trajectory of the ball. At the 1998 World Cup, he played seven matches, including the final loss to France. After a qualifying game for the 2002 World Cup which was held in South Korea/Japan, Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert spat on Roberto Carlos, an action which caused FIFA to give Chilavert a three-match suspension and forced him to watch the first game of the World Cup from the stands. Roberto Carlos played six matches in the World Cup, scoring a goal from a free-kick against China, and was a starter in the final against Germany, with Brazil winning 2–0. After the…

Tactically, Roberto Carlos started out playing football in Brazil as a forward – usually as a centre-forward or outside forward – but spent most of his career as defender, usually as a left-sided full-back or wing-back. In 2006, he was described as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the history of the game", by John Carlin of The New York Times; indeed, he was known for his forward surging runs throughout his career. Roberto Carlos is also widely considered by several pundits as one of the best left backs in the history of the sport. During his time at Inter, he was also used out of position as a winger in a 4–4–2 formation on occasion by manager Roy Hodgson, which had a negative impact on his performances, and often saw him caught out defensively; in his later career with Anzhi Makhachkala, he was instead deployed as a defensive midfielder in a three-man midfield, in order to compensate for his loss of pace and physical decline due to his advancing age. Roberto Carlos was nicknamed El Hombre Bala ("The Bullet Man") throughout his career, due to his powerful bending shots and free kicks, which have been measured at over 105 miles per hour (169 km/h), and for which he became renowned. A set-piece specialist, he is regarded as one of the foremost free kick takers of his generation, and was known for being capable of striking the ball powerfully – in particular from long range – and of producing curling shots with the outside of his left boot in dead ball situations. A…

Anzhi Makhachkala

Roberto Carlos had a brief spell as interim manager at Anzhi Makhachkala in early 2012. He later criticised the club upon resigning alongside manager Guus Hiddink.

Sivasspor

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

Akhisarspor

On 2 January 2015, Roberto Carlos was appointed as manager of Akhisarspor.

Delhi Dynamos

After finishing his season in Turkey, Roberto Carlos signed for Al-Arabi of the Qatari Stars League, but due to talks breaking down, he did not join the Qatari club. Then, on 5 July 2015, it was announced that he had signed to be the head coach of the Delhi Dynamos of the Indian Super League for the 2015 season. At the end of the season, it was announced that he would not return to Delhi Dynamos in 2016.