Beckham is best says Roberto Carlos

No mean practitioner himself, Roberto Carlos has told that his former team-mate David Beckham – whom AC Milan are keen to bring back to Europe on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy – is the best free-kick taker he has ever seen.

Expert delivery
In an exclusive interview with the UEFA Training Ground, the former Brazil left-back, who played alongside Beckham at Real Madrid CF between 2003 and 2007, spoke of the dilemma caused by the presence of two set-piece specialists whenever the team won a free-kick in opposition territory.

A thing of beauty
"It depended on the position of the ball and the distance," the 35-year-old Fenerbahçe SK defender said. "I would shoot it along the short side of the wall or over it, he would shoot wide of the wall or over it. I would stand on one side and Beckham on the other, but I wanted to see Beckham take the free-kick because it's beautiful how he hits the ball."

Exclusive club
Roberto Carlos, who also talks Training Ground users through the art of delivering free-kicks, is one of ten players to have made 100 or more UEFA Champions League appearances – his 117 outings being surpassed only by Real Madrid striker Raúl González. Ever-present in Fenerbahçe's European campaign this season, he won the continent's premier club trophy three times during an eleven-year spell in Spain.

Zidane supreme
Now in his second term at Fenerbahçe, he was part of Madrid's Galáctico side that included Beckham, Ronaldo, Zinédine Zidane and Luís Figo. One of that quartet, in particular, stood out for Roberto Carlos. "Beckham was an enormous example as a person and as a footballer. But, truly, the player who most impressed me for his quality, his calmness, his ability and his intelligence, it can only be Zidane," said the former SE Palmeiras and FC Internazionale Milano man.