Cristiano Roland

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.

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. In 1996, he moved to Vasco da Gama and helped them win the Brasileirão in 1997. In 2001–02, Cristiano scored three league goals, two of them against Porto, and in both times, Beira-Mar won.

In June 2002, Benfica signed him on a four-year deal, with Diogo Luís and Toni going in the other direction on loan deals. From early on, Cristiano struggled with competition from Ricardo Rocha, and on occasions, Cabral. He only made his debut on 3 November 2002 against Santa Clara, but with the arrival of José Antonio Camacho, he began playing much more frequently, finishing the season with 14 appearances. The following season, Cristiano was set to reunite with Jesualdo Ferreira at Braga, but the loan deal fell through. Still, Cristiano started 8 league games in the first half of the season, until the arrival of Fyssas in January. From then on, he became a bench player and never returned to the starting eleven. In May, he added his second trophy in Portugal, after winning the 2003–04 Taça de Portugal.

In July 2004, he was loaned to Belenenses for one year. Initially, he was an undisputed starter playing six games in a row, but an injury in late October, cause him to lost his place to Cabral and José Sousa. In 2005–06, Cristiano could not find a team and was placed in Benfica B, but mutually terminated his contract on late September 2005. After Benfica, he spent some time at Juventude in the Série A, before moving to Atromitos in the Greek league. In 2009, Cristiano moved back to Hanoi T&T and won the league in 2010 and 2013, retiring in 2013. 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.

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.

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. 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 Brasileirão: 1997

Beira-Mar Taça de Portugal: 1998–99

Benfica Taça de Portugal: 2003–04

Hanoi T&T V-League: 2010, 2013 Vietnamese Super Cup: 2010

Vietnam national under-17 football team ASEAN U-17 Boys' Championship: 2026