Full name Roberto Carlos da Silva Rocha
Date of birth April 10, 1973
Current age: 37
Place of birth Gar?a, S?o Paulo, Brazil
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Playing position Left wingback
Roberto Carlos amassed 125 caps, scoring 11 goals 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 (115 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.
In July 2006, after Brazil's 1-0 defeat to France in the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Roberto Carlos announced his retirement from the national team, saying, "I've stopped with the national team. It was my last game." He said he no longer wanted to play for Brazil because of the criticism he faced from fans and Brazilian media for his failure to mark goal scorer Thierry Henry on France's winning goal. However, upon signing with Corinthians in January 2010, Roberto Carlos said he told TV Globo that he hoped to play at the 2010 FIFA World Cup and believed his return to Brazilian football may help him return to the national team, as manager Dunga had yet to settle on a left back.