Roberto Carlos closes White Week at Universidad Europea-Real Madrid Graduate School
"In my day, we started by winning la Séptima and now we're on to la Decimoquinta. It's spectacular," said the three-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid.
Roberto Carlos was the star of the fourth and final day of the White Week at Real Madrid European Graduate School. The club director of institutional relations, Emilio Butragueño, presented an event in which the Brazilian legend, who won three Champions Leagues with Madrid, said: "Real Madrid has made me grow as a human being and as a professional, and I'm very grateful for everything. Working at this club is the best, both when I played and now as an ambassador. You learn a lot about what Madrid represents off the pitch. Real Madrid is a benchmark for any human being, and I am privileged to be able to live here and enjoy football."
His time at Real Madrid
"For a young boy leaving Brazil with the dream of making history, being in the Brazilian national team and at Real Madrid were dreams that came true. They were 11 complicated years because playing at Real Madrid wasn't that easy. People think that the world of football is easy, but here at Madrid a lot is demanded of you because you always have to win."
The warmth of the fans
"I feel all the affection from the fans with great joy and the utmost intensity. You always have to stay happy, stay humble, and treat people well. I have a lot of fun travelling because people still remember me and that's a good sign. Working as an ambassador means a lot to me, it shows that we made history on the pitch. It's a reward for what Roberto Carlos is as a player and as a person."
The Champions League
"When you talk about the European Cup, you talk about Alfredo Di Stéfano, Puskas, Gento... We didn't go into it with the obligation to win it, but at that time, a team had been formed to win LaLiga and the Champions League. It all happened very quickly, I wasn't ready for the European Cup, in Brazil I watched it on television. And from one day to the next you find yourself entering the stadium in Amsterdam with the Cup in front of you. It was my first European Cup final, playing against a great Juventus side, but we had a strong team capable of winning and that's when we started dreaming again about this competition. We started in my time with la Séptima and now we're going for la Decimoquinta. It's spectacular to play in this competition, it's easy to play but difficult to win."
Real Madrid and Brazil
"When you leave Brazil, you have to understand that if you are at Real Madrid, it is because you are good at what you do, that is to say, you are good at everything. In addition, we adapt very quickly to European culture. At Real Madrid you have to work harder because they demand more of you on and off the pitch; it's a very proper club, an example to other clubs. A youth player has everything he needs to grow, and at the end of his career, he can say, ‘I played for Real Madrid. ’ When I left in 2007, I missed it a lot. Here you also have that winning mentality, to always play well. Only Madrid has that, it's spectacular."
Other contributions
The last day of the Semana Blanca also featured a contribution from José Ángel Sánchez, CEO of Real Madrid. Rodrigo Marín, director of Corporate Projects at Real Madrid, focused his contribution on The situation in the football industry and the Real Madrid formula. And Francisco Panadero, the club's director of Infrastructure and Asset Development, spoke about Asset development: added value of assets.