First sprang to prominence on the European stage when he starred on Brazil's tour of Britain in the summer of 1995.

That summer he moved to Europe and Italian giants Inter Milan.

Again enhanced his reputation to dazzle the San Siro fans and scored six Serie A goals - many of them long-range piledrivers.

Surprisingly left the San Siro after just one season when joining Italian coach Fabio Capello at Real Madrid.

Since then Roberto Carlos has been a fixture in the Bernabeu starting line-up.

He's won Spanish championships, two Champions Leagues and helped Brazil into the 1998 World Cup finals.

In his early days many judges thought him suspect in defence.

But now he's widely acclaimed as the best there is at his position.

His pace and fitness mean he can play most of the game in the opposition half, but still get back to defend when the need arises.

Possesses a devastating shot from free-kicks - although his ratio of goals to attempts isn't that high.

Just the sight of him taking a fast bowler's run-up to a dead ball sends the Bernabeu crowd into raptures.

Probably best known for the stunning swerving free-kick which found the France net at Le Tournoi in the summer of 1997.