Brazil legends Carlos and Gilberto will play in Sussex

For fans of certain generations, the sight of Brazil’s Roberto Carlos taking a few short steps before breaking into a long run and lashing a powerful, twisting, circling free-kick beyond a helpless goalkeeper with the outside of his deadly left foot is one of the most iconic in football history.

This weekend, the 3,000-seat Dripping Pan fans are hoping to see just that.

The former Real Madrid left-back, now 51, takes on fellow World Cup winner and ex-Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva in a charity match in Lewes, Sussex.

Playing as team captains, the Brazilian legends will find out who will be selected from a list of players including former Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann and striker Jeremy Aliadier, as well as former Aston Villa captain Stilyan Petrov.

Carlos and Gilberto co-founded Striver, a social media app designed to prevent the spread of offensive material, with Sussex-based tech entrepreneur Tim Chase.

Chase has lost six friends to suicide, the latest just four weeks ago, and Sunday’s match will raise money for suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM).

“We wanted to put on an amazing event to raise money for charity and give the people there an incredible day,” said Chase, who will also play in the match.

“It will be interactive – the FA Cup-style draw was a fan’s idea.

“There will be people in the crowd who have lost family members to suicide.

“If someone is there on Sunday and they want to reach out to someone and talk to someone, we can potentially save a life.”

Chase first met Gilberto at a conference and their friendship grew from there. He describes former Arsenal title holder ‘The Invincible’, who is godfather to one of Chase’s children, as a brother.

Chase already had an idea for an abuse-free social media app, and when Gilberto introduced him to three-time Champions League winner Carlos, the three decided to launch Striver.

The program is designed to use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect offensive content and prevent it from being published, rather than having moderators remove it later.

Harry Maguire and Saul Campbell are among its ambassadors.

Gilberto, 48, joined Arsenal from Atletico Mineiro in his native Brazil shortly after winning the 2002 World Cup.

He made 244 appearances and scored 24 goals for the Gunners, winning two FA Cups and one Premier League title during his six years in north London.

The midfielder made 32 appearances as Arsenal went unbeaten throughout the 2003-04 Championship season.

Petrov, 45, spent seven seasons at Villa Park and is Bulgaria’s all-time most capped player with 105 international appearances.

Carlos spent 11 trophy-winning seasons with Real Madrid during the club’s Galáticos era, playing alongside the likes of Raúl, Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham.

He won four La Liga titles and three Champions League crowns with Los Blancos, making 527 appearances and scoring 70 goals.

The StriveAid match, which takes place on Sunday at 18:30 GMT, will be streamed live on TikTok, YouTube and Twitch.