The physics-defying free kick specialist — four Champions Leagues and Brazil's World Cup winner.
Roberto Carlos da Silva was born in Garça, Brazil in 1973. Real Madrid paid £6 million for him in 1996. His eleven Madrid seasons produced four La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues. He won the World Cup with Brazil in 2002 and two Copa Américas. His free kick against France in 1997 — a ball that bent in a physical arc that physicists subsequently studied and aerodynamicists used as a case study — is the single most replicated and discussed set-piece in football history. The ball curved outward, then bent sharply back past the goalkeeper from a 35-metre distance in a trajectory that violated most observers' intuitive understanding of how a ball could move. His attacking output from left-back — 116 career goals — combined with his defensive work and his physical attributes of pace and stamina made him the definitive modern attacking full-back. He represented Brazil 125 times. He was voted FIFA's best left-back of the last 50 years.
World Cup (2002)
Career Honours
- World Cup (2002)
- Champions League 4x (1998,2000,2002,2014 honorary)
- La Liga 4x
- Copa América 2x