Ricardo Carvalho - Style of Play

Style of Play

Ricardo Carvalho has always been a centre-back. He is quick, good in the air, and with superb technique, comparisons have been made between him and the legendary Italian defender Franco Baresi. His body is not as strong as a regular centre-back but he likes to play hard and tackle, in a UEFA Champions League's official magazine interview Carvalho said:

(...) Players who grow in England are different, they are tough, strong. My first year was difficult because I wanted the ball, wanted to play, and the pace here is unbelievable. The players are physically strong, and if they don't play well they kick. It wasn't my game. And every time I jumped with my arm my shoulder would pop out. With time it got weaker. In May 2005 I had an operation, I started to work a bit in the gym, which I'd never done before, and I improved a lot. (...) My body is not as strong as a normal centre-back in England, but I like to play hard and tackle. I love to make crazy tackles, I like to slide on the ground.

Like he said, he is not as tall as most centre-backs but he won headers against them, he scored three goals against Manchester United with Rio Ferdinand (1.91 m) and Nemanja Vidić (1.89 m) in defence. In the same UEFA Champions League's official magazine interview, he said:

(...) At Porto there were taller centre-backs than me, but they were on the bench because I was quicker, I turned quicker. I said to the coach, 'I have to grow a bit.' But he said: 'No, you'll start to get slow to turn, slow to run. You're good, you are there now.' (...) A defender is one thing, football is about defending and playing. Normally, play comes from us defenders so we have to defend, not concede, close down space, be focused on the strikers and after all that try to get a move going. (...)

His Real Madrid profile describes him as "known for his perfect positioning, his foresight and his ability to advance the ball out of the first third."