Liverpool has a slight edge in the Champions League final: Roberto Carlos

The Brazilian, arguably the best left-back of all time, was asked about the best goal he scored. It was assumed Carlos would talk about the famous freekick he scored against France in 1997. But his mind races back to what is described as the ‘impossible goal’ he scored against Tenerife during Real Madrid’s Copa del Rey campaign – striking the ball with the outside of his left foot from the edge of the byline. It looked like a desperate attempt to keep the ball in play, but it curled back into the top corner, leaving the goalkeeper stunned in the goal.

“I have scored many goals, okay not so many, but some are special. (The goal) against Tenerife… I trained hard and practised over and over and over,” he said at the Football for Friendship Forum, an initiative by Russian gas company Gazprom. “And of course, that free kick.”

Regarding the Champions League final, Carlos said Liverpool’s experience of playing the final last year will give them an advantage in Saturday’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur at the Estadio Metropolitano.

“I wish Real Madrid was in the final. Unfortunately, that was not possible. Next year! I don’t have a clear favourite. I think they have both done a great job and deserve to be in the final. I think Liverpool has a slight advantage because they’ve already played a final. It’s going to be a great final,” the three-time Champions League winner said.

Addressing a group of young players, Carlos said he wasn’t the best player in his childhood. But the drive to succeed, backed by constant hard work got him to where he is today.

“When I was a child, I had a dream. There were many players better than me, but they all thought they were too good. On the other hand, I worked very hard,” said the former Delhi Dynamos manager, who is now a Real Madrid ambassador. “I was the first one to arrive at training sessions, the last one to walk out of there. That’s how I made my career. Being consistent and working hard. But most of all, you have to be a very good person. That’s what we are training our young players for at Real Madrid.”

The seventh edition of Football for Friendship forum is currently underway in Madrid. The programme has attracted more than 800 participants from Asia, Europe, Africa and America. India is represented by Mohali’s Ananya Kamboj, who is the programme’s young ambassador.

The 14-year-old is participating in the programme for the last three years. “The way my life changed after participating in this programme… I could have never imagined,” Ananya, who authored a book ‘My Journey from Mohali to St Petersburg, said. “I have always believed that it is imperative to pay particular attention to both sport and cultural education of children. That is why Nine Values promoted by Football for Friendship programme are so important – they encourage children to develop both on a football field and in life.”

Miquel Puig, the CEO of Barcelona Youth Academy, Delhi Dynamos manager Josep Gambau, the general director of the club of scouts and young footballers of Peñarol (Uruguay) Pablo Cesar Torres and the coordinator of Women FC Alkmaar (The Netherlands) were among the speakers at the forum.

On Saturday, hours before the Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham, the Football for Friendship World Championship final will take place in Madrid’s city square, the Plaza Mayor. “Sport, in general, is a tool for progress. Football is part of those sports that help us grow as a person,” Carlos said. “It’s a unique initiative that contributes enormously to the development of children.”

The writer is in Madrid on the invitation of Gazprom