One of the greatest things about being a full back is that one has the license to attack. They don’t have to sit back all day and defend. That is why some of the greatest attackers of the game came in the form of Brazilian full-backs.
The term to put emphasis on is Brazilian. Right now, Marcelo and Dani Alves are two of the greatest attacking full-backs and both of them are Brazilians. Indeed, the greatest attacking right-back and left-back of all time are Brazilians—and one of them celebrates his 43rd birthday today.
Roberto Carlos, the legendary former Real Madrid man, is unarguably the greatest attacking left-back to ever play the game. He was instrumental in the successes of Real Madrid during their modern time golden era as his bombarding presence down the left flank was the cause of many goals for Real Madrid.
Trending
As he celebrates his 43rd birthday, here are 7 unorthodox facts about the legendary Brazilian…
The Bullet man
Every person has some attributes for which they are remembered. For example, Zinedine Zidane was remembered for his silky touch and passes. Similarly, Roberto Carlos was remembered for more than just terrorizing the right-flank of the opponents; it was his bullet shots
This was a man who could shoot the ball at terrorizing speed that could put even a rocket to shame. And it was for this that he was nicknamed ‘El Hombre Bala’, which means ‘the bullet man’ in English. And a look at his free-kicks and the power with which he struck them, would give one a clear idea.
Thighs like that
One of the most famous tracks by Eminem is ‘A** like that’. An excerpt of the lyrics of the song goes, ‘the way you shake it, I can’t believe it, I have never seen an a** like that.”
If Eminem was a Roberto Carlos fan, the song might as well have been named ‘Thighs Like That’, with the same lyrics but the word a** being omitted in favour of thighs.
Jokes aside, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s thighs are admirable, they are nothing when compared to the Brazilian’s. In his time as a player, he never missed a leg day and built thighs the size of 24 inches.
It was his thighs that gave him the strength to shoot balls at an incredible pace, something that put so much fear on the players who had to stand in the wall for his free-kick.
Mugged
Celebrities are treated like Gods, but even God’s name is sold for money these days. So when Roberto Carlos was doing a live radio interview, two robbers carrying guns approached him and mugged him.
However, those thieves had compassion as they didn’t harm the legendary former left-back and only took his expensive watch along with the interviewer’s cellular phone.
And this event happened back in 2005, when social media wasn’t as prominent as it is now and hence didn’t get much media coverage.
An expensive gift
Roberto Carlos offered to play for Real Madrid for free after he left Fenerbahce. However, as Real had Marcelo, they didn’t call him back—and this turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
Carlos then went to Russia to play for Anzhi Makachkala, where he was treated with the utmost respect by the club owner.
The owner of the club, Suleyman Kerimov, was such a big fan of his that he gifted him a Bugatti Veyron for his 38th birthday—which was five years ago on this day. How quickly does time pass? Very quick in beauty, that’s for sure.
Real Madrid’s record holder
Alfredo di Stefano is Real Madrid’s greatest player ever. He helped the team win 5 European Cups in a row and was the best player of his era. He made many records for Real Madrid, some of which still stand to this very day.
Roberto Carlos, however, broke one of his record back in January 2006 when he played his 370th La Liga game as a Real Madrid player—making him the most capped foreign-born player in La Liga, a record that was held by Alfredo di Stefano before that.
Racism victim
When Roberto Carlos went to Russia, one could instantly predict the future: that he would be the victim of racist remarks.
Racism in Russia is as common as auto-tuned singing in today’s pop. And the most shameful part is the fact that the authorities don’t do as much about it as they should be doing.
In a match against FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, Roberto Carlos received a pass from the goalkeeper. As he was about to pass it to his team-mate, a banana was thrown at him—and this was the second time it happened in his short stint in Russia.
Then what Roberto Carlos did became the subject of many praises. He picked up the banana, threw it by the sidelines and walked off the field right then and there—raising two fingers towards the stands, indicating the number of times he received racist remarks in Russia.
Almost joined Birmingham
Could you imagine what would have happened had Carlos played in England? Well, it was once very close to be a reality. When he scored his first international goal for Brazil at Goodison Park against Japan in 1993—a game which Brazil won 3-0—it caught the eyes of Birmingham scouts and they were interested in signing him.
'It [the goal] had speed as usual and swerve. That was when my career with the national side began,’ said Carlos.
'And this tournament was significant because at the time I had an offer from an English club - Birmingham. I remember it to this day.
'But it didn't work out because Uniao Sao Joao were asking for too much money'.
And that’s just about it.
Happy birthday, Roberto Carlos!
