Cristiano Roland
Brazilian footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cristiano Rocha Canedo Roland (born 4 October 1976), sometimes known simply as Cristiano, is a retired Brazilian footballer who played as a left-back. He is currently the head coach of Vietnam U17.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Cristiano Rocha Canedo Roland | ||
| Date of birth | 4 October 1976 | ||
| Place of birth | Porto Alegre, Brazil | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Left-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
Vietnam U17 (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1995 | Grêmio | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1996–1997 | Vasco da Gama | 14 | (4) |
| 1998 | Grêmio | 8 | (5) |
| 1998–2002 | Beira-Mar | 77 | (7) |
| 2002–2005 | Benfica | 24 | (1) |
| 2004–2005 | → Belenenses (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2005 | Benfica B | 2 | (1) |
| 2006 | Juventude | ||
| 2006–2007 | Atromitos | 9 | (0) |
| 2008 | Hanoi FC | (4) | |
| 2008–2009 | Beira-Mar | 26 | (1) |
| 2009–2013 | Hanoi FC | 88 | (6) |
| 2015–2016 | Beira-Mar | 18 | (0) |
| Total | 276 | (23) | |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2021–2023 | Becamex Bình Dương (Assistant) | ||
| 2023–2024 | Hanoi FC Youth | ||
| 2024– | Vietnam U17 | ||
| 2024 | SHB Da Nang | ||
| 2025– | Hanoi FC Youth | ||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 January 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 January 2025 | |||
He started at Grêmio and moved to Vasco da Gama in 1996, where he won the Brasileirão in 1997. In 1998, he signed with Beira-Mar winning a Portuguese Cup in 1999 and transferring to Benfica in 2002, where he won another Portuguese Cup in 2004. In 2007, he moved to the V-League, playing for Hanoi T&T on two different spells, winning three major titles.
Playing career
Born in Porto Alegre, Cristiano started at Grêmio in 1994, and spending two years in their youth system.[1] In 1996, he moved to Vasco da Gama and helped them win the Brasileirão in 1997.[1] After a short period back at Grêmio, Cristiano moved abroad and joined Beira-Mar in 1998. He was sparsely used in his first year, that ended with mixed results: relegation in the Primeira Divisão and the conquering the Portuguese Cup.[1] His influence grew in the following three seasons and he became known as free-kick specialist.[2][3] In 2001–02, Cristiano scored three league goals, two of them against Porto, and in both times, Beira-Mar won.[4][5]
In June 2002, Benfica signed him on a four-year deal, with Diogo Luís and Toni going in the other direction on loan deals.[6][7] From early on, Cristiano struggled with competition from Ricardo Rocha, and on occasions, Cabral.[8][9] He only made his debut on 3 November 2002 against Santa Clara,[10] but with the arrival of José Antonio Camacho, he began playing much more frequently, finishing the season with 14 appearances.[11] The following season, Cristiano was set to reunite with Jesualdo Ferreira at Braga, but the loan deal fell through.[12][13] Still, Cristiano started 8 league games in the first half of the season, until the arrival of Fyssas in January.[14] From then on, he became a bench player and never returned to the starting eleven.[15] In May, he added his second trophy in Portugal, after winning the 2003–04 Taça de Portugal.[16]
In July 2004, he was loaned to Belenenses for one year.[17][18] Initially, he was an undisputed starter playing six games in a row, but an injury in late October,[19][20] cause him to lost his place to Cabral and José Sousa.[21] In 2005–06, Cristiano could not find a team and was placed in Benfica B,[22][23] but mutually terminated his contract on late September 2005.[24] After Benfica, he spent some time at Juventude in the Série A, before moving to Atromitos in the Greek league.[1] He played for Hanoi T&T in 2007 and returned to Beira-Mar in July 2008, playing 26 games in the Liga de Honra.[25] In 2009, Cristiano moved back to Hanoi T&T and won the league in 2010 and 2013, retiring in 2013.[26] In August 2015, he came out of retirement for a third stint at Beira-Mar, after they were relegated to the Aveiro FA's second division.[27]
Managerial career
Cristiano began his coaching career at the youth team of his former club Hanoi. He led Hanoi's U-17 side to win the 2024 Vietnamese U-17 Championship. Shortly after the triumph, he became the head coach of Vietnam U17 and led the team to qualify for the 2025 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.[28]
On 3 December 2024, Cristiano was appointed as the head coach of V.League 1 side SHB Da Nang. This was the first professional club that he led in his managerial career.[29] But he soon left the coaching position due to him becoming the technical director.
On May 13, 2026, Cristiano helped the Vietnam U17 qualify for the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup after defeating the UAE 3-2 in the group stage of the 2026 AFC U-17 Asian Cup.
Honours
- Vasco da Gama
- Beira-Mar
- Benfica
- Hanoi T&T
- V-League: 2010, 2013
- Vietnamese Super Cup: 2010
- Vietnam national under-17 football team