Marcelo Or Roberto Carlos

Who was the better left back?

  • Total voters
    227
  • Poll closed .
Maluco said:
Marcelo for me. Technique, first touch and his ability on the ball were as good as any top forward. He could have played in a number of positions because he was such a good footballer.

He didn’t have the ability to strike a ball like Carlos, but at his peak, he was a superb athlete too.

I think he was more combative on the defensive side than Carlos too.

It has probably hurt him playing for a much worse Brazil side.
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More combative than Carlos? I'm not having that, Carlos was a beast. Better player maybe but not more combative.
 
Raees said:
There are many posters in this thread that have simply just not seen Carlos play - only explanation behind the comment that Marcelo is better by a mile or Carlos is technically limited.
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Of course Carlos wasn't technically limited. Carlos was a winger at Inter and later CDM at both Fenerbache and Anzhi if my memory doesn't betray me. But Marcelo in my view might have been the best dribbler in the world - or at least one of the best - for a couple of seasons. He certainly was the best dribbler at Real Madrid containing Ronaldo, Bale, di Maria, Özil etc around 2014-2017.

Carlos and Maicon are very similar players - powerful, extremely fast - despite one being 1.69 and the other 1.89.
 
shamans said:
It's Marcelo but Carlos just had more of a legendary aura to him especially since he played in that amazing Brazil team.

He was also kinda unique in revolutionizing the wing back position, if I am right?
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Yeah, quite balanced point of view it seems.
 
Roberto Carlos is somewhat underrated because he is so spectacular. He is a tier above Marcelo, unbelievable influence on that Brazil team.

Worth noting that he was once 2nd place for Ballon d Or too. As a fullback.
 
Pexbo said:
Marcelo and it’s not really that close. He’s a level or two above RC.
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You are taking the piss aren't you? RC was a really tough full back, pace of flash, tighs like hulk, calf like Hercules I could go on...
 
TwoSheds said:
More combative than Carlos? I'm not having that, Carlos was a beast. Better player maybe but not more combative.
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He was a beast in terms of athleticism and drive, but Marcelo was more combative in the tackle at the peak of his powers in my opinion. He wasn’t afraid to get stuck in or go after 50/50s.

He was tougher than his relaxed persona would have you believe. I always remember watching Madrid in tough games and he was never afraid of a tackle.
 
I’m not sure you can be technically limited and be able to strike a deadball like Roberto Carlos did, not to mention the shots and crosses he provided while running at such a speed. Does him a serious disservice to say that.

Both world class but give me Carlos any day.
 
Maluco said:
He was a beast in terms of athleticism and drive, but Marcelo was more combative in the tackle at the peak of his powers in my opinion. He wasn’t afraid to get stuck in or go after 50/50s.

He was tougher than his relaxed persona would have you believe. I always remember watching Madrid in tough games and he was never afraid of a tackle.
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That's as may be but Carlos loved a tackle. Strong as a bull he was.
 
youngrell said:
I’m not sure you can be technically limited and be able to strike a deadball like Roberto Carlos did, not to mention the shots and crosses he provided while running at such a speed. Does him a serious disservice to say that.

Both world class but give me Carlos any day.
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To be fair, R.Carlos had been mocked for his 'uncultured' style in Brazil, but the relativity there is that we're talking about the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing fullbacks of all time he was being contrasted against and the difference then is stark. Marcelo is more of what a Brazilian mould fullback is in the classical sense, not R.Carlos, so when they say technically limited, it's contrasted to Júnior, Nilton Santos, Carlos Alberto, Cafu, Leandro and so many more - players who were ridiculously skilled, even at walking pace, like Marcelo.

None of it is an impedance on R.Carlos and his effectiveness, though, and from that perspective, he shut a lot of his critics up entirely.
 
Would agree with the gist of most of the comments so far. Not a lot between them and both hugely influential to Real's success in different ways. Defensively neither were absolute top tier for contrasting reasons. Carlos was too proactive at times, 9/10 when diving in he'd win the ball, the other time he'd miss it completely. Marcelo wasn't proactive enough, particularly when defending bigger spaces where I don't think he read danger as sharply as the great defensive full-backs. It's an area where I'd probably give a narrow edge to Carlos due to his superior physicality and anticipation. Technically Marcelo was superior in tight spaces with nimbler feet which served Real well when they were breaking down packed defences. Meanwhile, Carlos had better ball striking technique and could deliver into dangerous areas with more power. As an overall package I'd give the edge to Carlos. His athleticism was off the charts and it effectively allowed Real to play just him on the left flank, with Zidane, nominally on the left, spending most of his time floating into central areas. His attacking movement was a nightmare to defend against because he always played at 100mph. But it wasn't just brawn, as I also thought he was one of the greatest at timing his change of pace past a packed defence. It was that combination of box-to-box anticipation and dynamism which set him apart.
 
Just for the Nike ads alone, Roberto Carlos. That's not even getting to the Pepsi ads yet.
 
GatoLoco said:
People normally mention Raul -with good judgement- to explain Madrid's victories in late 90s and early 2000s but I think Roberto Carlos contribution is understated compared to him. I need to re-check the plays, but I think I read somewhere that he participated in 4 out of the 6 goals in CL finals. It would not surprise me because at his best he was everywhere. It is impossible very uncommon for a full back to count on those levels of speed, stamina, shot and technical quality he had before 2004.

Marcelo has been awesome too. I rarely had the feeling any other full back could create something out of nothing in attacking positions as frequently as he did.


PS: cheat mode

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To be fair, it wasn't one or the other but the Roberto Carlos-Raúl combo that was unplayable at times.
 
I find it hard to pick one

I'd go with Marcelo, just..

they were both amazing
 
It's like comparing TAA with Maicon

One is more complementary to other stars, while the other is the star you build around
 
Carlos was more entertaining. I care more about that than "better". It's really close anyway.
 
RC was the more talented player but Marcelo has had a longer peak and a better career.
 
2 of the greatest... but I'll go with Roberto Carlos as he was more balanced. Marcelo is amazing offensively and has the edge on Roberto Carlos there. Defensively however Roberto Carlos was definitely the better one. The same can be said for Cafu/Dani Alves I think, where Alves was the more spectacular one of both, but Cafu the more allround one. Brazil could win things with Cafu and Roberto Carlos as wingbacks, but with Alves and Marcelo their defense was never solid. In the end all great fullbacks obviously though.
 
Marcelo idolized Carlos
Carlos idolized Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw idolized Depay
 
Marcelo easily. Roberto Carlos, as good as he was, a tad bit overrated due to his free kicks.

Marcelo was a generational talent, his dribbling skills and ball control were insanely good. He has the same criticism of marauding fullbacks, but he provided more than he gave. Fantastic player underrated compared to Roberto Carlos, but much better.
 
Roberto Carlos played some years for Palmeiras. We could watch him juggling a ball in training ground, doing those Maradona things. He could do everything with a football. Impecable first touch, dribbling, control. I assume when someone say he was "technically limited" the person is just trying to get some attention with a futile controversy?
 
iamking said:
Marcelo easily. Roberto Carlos, as good as he was, a tad bit overrated due to his free kicks.

Marcelo was a generational talent, his dribbling skills and ball control were insanely good. He has the same criticism of marauding fullbacks, but he provided more than he gave. Fantastic player underrated compared to Roberto Carlos, but much better.
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He wasn't just a free kick specialist. He was fast and I mean seriously fast - probably the fastest footballer in the world at one point. He had his flaws especially when it came to defending but so did Marcelo - was even regarded as Real's weak point.
 
Put Marcelo bald and he's just a regular player.
Give Roberto Carlos Marcelo's hair and he's a 7 times Ballon d'or winner.
 
Dani Alaves was a better Brazilian wingback than either comfortably on the other flank but I would go with Marcelo over Carlos personally.
 
Carlos dined out on that one freekick against France for most of his career. He was a very good player besides that. But Marcelo was untouchable at everything else.
 
Charles Miller said:
Roberto Carlos played some years for Palmeiras. We could watch him juggling a ball in training ground, doing those Maradona things. He could do everything with a football. Impecable first touch, dribbling, control. I assume when someone say he was "technically limited" the person is just trying to get some attention with a futile controversy?
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They made me doubt my memory of the guy, like when they say Carlos was technically limited, I thought they were talking about someone else!! he was the focal point for the Madrid's attack for years, the guy assisted Zidane's famous volley in a UCL final ffs!!
 
Fortitude said:
To be fair, R.Carlos had been mocked for his 'uncultured' style in Brazil, but the relativity there is that we're talking about the most elegant and aesthetically pleasing fullbacks of all time he was being contrasted against and the difference then is stark. Marcelo is more of what a Brazilian mould fullback is in the classical sense, not R.Carlos, so when they say technically limited, it's contrasted to Júnior, Nilton Santos, Carlos Alberto, Cafu, Leandro and so many more - players who were ridiculously skilled, even at walking pace, like Marcelo.

None of it is an impedance on R.Carlos and his effectiveness, though, and from that perspective, he shut a lot of his critics up entirely.
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I can "begrudgingly" accept it when people say Roberto Carlos is not as aesthetically pleasing as other Brazilian FBs like Marcelo or Alves or Junior, but you can't associate Carlos with being "Technically Limited", that assertion does not pass the simple eye test.

I know, RC relied on his pace alot, he wouldn't dribble like Marcelo or Alves, he would just kick it past the defender and run, sometimes he would flick it over the defender and run towards the ball, and it was effective method to attack on the flanks, but he can dribble out of tight spaces if he had to, his passing was quality, his first touch ball control was as good and as beautiful as the best ever, his ball striking technique either when shooting or crossing was special.
 
Not much in it between them. I prefer Marcelo just because of how dominant he could be creatively from that left flank and it was basically like having another top winger in the world to overload that left side of those Madrid teams. Beautiful to watch and always someone I think goes a bit underrated.
 
Moby said:
They're no Andy Robertson of Liverpool 21/22 quadruple fame but very little between them.
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I know you're joking, but being a Scotland fan, I wouldn't swap Andy "The White Roberto Carlos" Robertson for any left back in the world.

To answer the question:

Roberto "The Black Andy Roberson" Carlos.
 
Roberto Carlos.

He may be more one footed, and not have as many trick in his locker as Marcelo, but he is still a flair player. Marcelo is athletic, yet Roberto Carlos can be described as freak of a nature. And Roberto Carlos is natural great 1 vs 1 defender.
 
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