Roberto
Carlos Biography - Introduction - If you look on YouTube or some other video
website for the best soccer goals of the 20th century, I'm pretty sure
you'll find two Roberto Carlos goals that are undoubtedly deemed
masterpieces in all compilations.
The first one, a 35 meter free kick that went flying with a
physics-defying curve to hit the post and go in the goal was voted the Free
Kick of the Century and another famous goal of his, a volley
taken from the corner flag that went straight in the back of the net,
are bound to make you rub your eyes a couple of times when you see them
for the first time.
But obviously, Roberto is a soccer player that thrived off his
defensive qualities, not on his goals, having played left back for most
of his career. The following biography will take you through this
wonderful career that saw the player take on the shirt of Palmeiras,
Internazionale Milano, Real Madrid and nowadays, Fenerbahce Istanbul.
Full
name
Roberto
Carlos da Silva
Date
of birth
April
10, 1973
Place
of birth
Garca,
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Height
5.6FT
- 1.68M
Playing
position
Left
Back
Palmeiras Roberto, unlike other Brazilian
players that ended up being world class super stars, was not
an early bloomer. Actually, he only got his first professional contract
in 1993, when he was 20 years of age, when Brazilian club Palmeiras
signed him from his youth club, Uniao Sao Joao.
Despite his rather late debut on the stage of professional soccer, he
made an immediate impact at Palmeiras and he played most of the games
in his two seasons with the club, scoring 5 times in his 68
appearances. As with many talented Brazilians that stand up from the
crowd in the local championship, Roberto drew the attention of big
European clubs and in 1995, Internazionale Milano offered him the deal
of his lifetime.
Season
Club
Games
Goals
1993-1995
Palmeiras
68
5
1995-1996
Internazionale
30
5
1996-2007
Real
Madrid
370
47
2007-Present
Fenerbahce
0
0
Last
Update - April 21, 2007
Domestic League Only
Internazionale Milano His time with Inter, although
short (he only
played one season with the Italian club) was very important to the
Brazilian left back, as he tasted the strength of European
championships and with the Italian Serie A being one of the most
defensive ones in the World, he had his hands full all throughout the
1995-1996 season. It was this season that he was also taken to the Brazilian
national team, with which he won the 1996 Summer Olympics
bronze medal.
For Roberto Carlos, Brazil was far away, but his national side fueled
him to continue in Europe with Inter. But his real European career
would start with his move to Real Madrid, the following year...
Years
National
Team
Games
Goals
1992-2006
Brazil
125
19
Real Madrid At Real, Carlos played for
11 seasons and
amassed 47 league goals in 370 matches, an impressive tally considering
the fact that he played as a left back for most of the time. His high
goal tally is mostly due to his trademark Roberto Carlos free
kicks, full on, powered-up, straight-through-the-wall shots.
In 1997 while playing for
Brazil, he scored the famous Roberto Carlos
freekick goal that I mentioned in the introduction, in a match against
France but he also had a lot of successful free kicks with Real Madrid
in the league.
Although he was the only free-kick taker in Real's squad for his first
few seasons, when Zinedine
Zidane and David
Beckham came to the squad, Roberto Carlos' free kicks were
reduced as both the Frenchman and the Englishman were excellent free
kick takers and needed their tries.
In the 2006-2007 season, he entered a cone of shadow, his performances
being unrecognizable. Falling out of favor of coach Fabio Capello and
the rest of Real's staff as well as having some disputes with the
club's fans, he decided it was time for a move and
chose Turkish side Fenerbahce, for which he will play in the next
season. Although he is 34 at the moment, he clearly stated that he
wants to end his career at the Turkish side, with which he has two
years of contract.
