Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha (born 10 April 1973 in Garça, São Paulo), commonly known as simply Roberto Carlos, is a Brazilian footballer who currently plays for Fenerbahçe of the Turkcell Süper Lig,^[2] normally as a wing back. Roberto Carlos was a member of the Brazil national team in three World Cups, helping the team reach the final in the 1998 competition and win the 2002 tournament. He is also known for his trademark free kicks and explosive strikes.

Before joining Fenerbahçe, he played for Spanish club Real Madrid for 11 years, winning four leagues, three UEFA Champions League trophies, and two Intercontinental Cups. He is also one of only six players to have played more than 100 matches in the Champions League, as of February 2008.^[3] He finished second to countryman Ronaldo in the 1997 FIFA World Player of the Year award poll and was named as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers by Pelé in March 2004. Encyclopædia Britannica heralds Roberto Carlos as "an excellent exponent of the wing back position."^[4]

Roberto Carlos began his professional career playing for União São João, a football club based in Araras (São Paulo State). Despite playing at what was seen as a lesser club, he was called up for the Brazil national football team.

[edit] Palmeiras

At Palmeiras, Roberto Carlos was recognized as one of the greats of Brazilian football, winning two consecutive Brazilian Leagues.

[edit] Inter Milan

After almost signing for Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough side in 1995, Roberto Carlos chose a move to Internazionale, playing for the Nerazzurri for one season. The then-coach of Inter, Roy Hodgson, wanted him to play as a left winger, but Carlos preferred to play only as a left back.

[edit] Real Madrid

Roberto Carlos played at Real for 11 seasons, playing a total of 584 matches and scoring 71 goals in all competitions. 370 of them were league matches, in which he scored 46 goals from his left-back position. He famously set up Zinedine Zidane to score the winner for Real Madrid to win the Champions League in 2002. His consistently high standard and dynamic displays saw him voted into the uefa.com users' UEFA Team of the Year in 2002 and 2003.^[5]

On 2 August 2005, he received dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship. This proved important for Real Madrid, as it meant that he now counted as a European Union player. In January 2006, he set a club record for the most league matches played by a non-Spanish born player by making his 330th appearance for Madrid. He broke the previous mark of 329 held by Alfredo di Stéfano.^[6]

Having played 30 or more league matches for ten consecutive seasons and being one of the most consistent players in the squad, he was heavily criticized for conceding the ball early during the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 against Bayern Munich, which led to Roy Makaay's goal, the quickest goal in the tournament's history. On 9 March 2007, he announced his decision to not renew his contract with Real Madrid. But in one of the last few games of the season in the dying seconds against Recreativo de Huelva, Fernando Gago played a beautiful pass and Roberto Carlos slotted it home. As a result, Real Madrid were on course for their 30th La Liga championship. He was linked with a move to Chelsea in the summer of 2006.^[7]

[edit] Fenerbahçe

On 19 June 2007, Roberto Carlos signed a two-year contract and one year optional with the Turkish Super League champions Fenerbahçe at the stadium in front of thousands of fans.^[8][9] In the first official match he played with the team, Fenerbahçe won the Turkish Super Cup against Beşiktaş by two goals. During a league match against Sivasspor, he scored his first goal for Fenerbahçe on 25 August 2007 on 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 Galatasaray.^[10] 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.^[11]

On 7 October 2009 Roberto Carlos announced that he would leave Fenerbahçe upon the expiration of his contract 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.^[12]

On 25 October 2009 during a match between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray he wrestled Keita to the ground who punched him in his face when they were falling down. Roberto Carlos was treated for a swollen face and was shown a yellow card for the foul, whereas Keita was sent off for violent conduct .^[13][14] The following week during the match with Kayserispor, Roberto Carlos gave away a penalty for holding back Argentinean player Cangele, costing his team two points.^[15]

On 14 November 2009, S.C. Corinthians coach Mano Menezes announced that Roberto Carlos has verbally agreed a deal to join the club on the expiration of his Fenerbahçe contract. He revealed that he had been persuaded by Brazilian legend, Ronaldo, who also signed for Corinthians in the late stages of 2008.^[16]

[edit] International career

Roberto Carlos amassed 125 caps, scoring 11 goals^[17] for the Brazilian national team. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, he played seven matches, including the final loss to France. After a qualifying game for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 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 also played seven matches in the finals, scoring a goal from a free kick against China. He also was a starter in the final against Germany, with Brazil winning 2-0.

He is especially famous for a free kick against France in the inaugural match of Tournoi de France 1997 on 3 June 1997. He shot from 35 m (110 ft) from the centre-right channel, and scored. The ball curved so much that the ball boy 10 yards to the right ducked instinctively, thinking that the ball would hit him. Instead, it eventually curled back on target, much to the surprise of goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, who just stood in place.^[18]

After the elimination by France in the quarter-final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, he announced his retirement from international football. Against France, he was widely criticised for failing to mark Thierry Henry during a Zinedine Zidane freekick which resulted in a goal from Henry.^[19]