Roberto Carlos' quotes from an old interview prove Roy Hodgson was never a great coach
England’s exit from UEFA Euro 2016 in the Round of 16 came as no surprise to the majority of the fans. But to lose to 2-1 Iceland made it one of their biggest embarrassments in history. Roy Hodgson resigned immediately after the defeat although it was just a formality as his contract was coming to an end anyway.
But should he have been appointed in the first place? Not many were in favour of Hodgson taking over the Three Lions and critics had asked for a change after the team was dumped out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup after failing to win a single game in the group stages.
The 68-year-old manager does not have many fans and one of those include Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos. The left-back had once explained that Hodgson was a man who “doesn’t know much about football”.
Hodgson had once managed Inter Milan between 1995 and 1997. And that was when Carlos had just moved to Europe and signed with Inter. But he lasted just one season with the Nerazzurri before moving to Real Madrid.
Many suggested that Carlos couldn’t cope with the style of play in Italian football and that was why he moved to Spain. But that was far from the truth and he explained as such in an interview he gave years later.
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I left Inter because of Hodgson: Carlos
“My problem at Inter was Roy Hodgson,” Carlos said. “It's not that I did not have a good relationship with Hodgson. It is just that Hodgson doesn't know much about football. He wanted me to play as a forward when I'm a defender.
“I prefer to have space ahead of me to run into rather than be a winger already up there; for me it's better to have 80 metres to play in than 20. I didn't like the system or where Hodgson wanted me to play in it.”
“He wanted me further up the pitch, sure, but stopped, still, rigid,” Carlos explained. “The Copa America was coming up and I was playing at left-back for Brazil, so I wanted to play there for Inter too.
“I had to leave because I didn't want to jeopardise my chances with the national team. If I couldn't play the way I do I wouldn't be able to play for Brazil. I spoke to [Inter president] Massimo Moratti to see if he could sort things out and it soon became clear that the only solution was to leave.”
Carlos would go on to join Fabio Capello at Real Madrid and become an integral member of the squad for 11 seasons, With Los Blancos, he won 13 trophies – including four La Liga titles and three Champions League trophies.
Watch live streaming of the Euro 2016 on SonyLIV