Malaysia were ranked 112 when Carlos and his Brazilian teammates stopped in Kuala Lumpur for a pre-World Cup friendly in 2002, where the South Americans won 4-0, before emerging as world champions that year. The 2002 World Cup was hosted by South Korea and Japan.
Today, the world class left back is surprised to see the Harimau Malaya squad has fallen to 178th place, their lowest-ever ranking, but the 44-year-old is hopeful that it could get better year by year.
“To improve the ranking, the team must have a good coach, good physical trainers, good strength and conditional coaches as well as a good goalkeeper trainer. When the coaching (line up) is great, then you will get great football.
“The responsibility of the coach is to study other good teams such as Real Madrid and Germany, among others. The coach needs to keep himself up to date because football is growing very fast, you need to be practical. You need to keep on learning,” he told reporters after being unveiled as AirAsia’s new global brand ambassador here today.
Carlos, who also played for Inter Milan and Fenerbahce, also reminded the current generation of footballers that no player is bigger than the coach, who deserves to be respected for his vast knowledge and position.
Meanwhile, to be a good footballer, Carlos said one must continuously work hard and keep looking forward to be better than others.
“Work, work and work. You always need to work with your team and also opponents. Being a footballer, nothing is more important than being with the national team to represent the country at international fixtures,” said Carlos, who was part of the Brazillian squad for almost 16 years before announcing his retirement from the national team after the 2006 World Cup.
Nicknamed as “The Bullet Man” for his powerful free kicks, Carlos said his most memorable goal was his iconic 35-metre freekick “curler” against France in the 1997 Tournoi de France.
Aside from winning the 2002 World Cup, as a Real Madrid player, Carlos won four Spanish La Liga titles and lifted the UEFA Champions League three times – in 1998, 2000 and 2002.