Some 36 years after his finest hour on the field, leading Brazil to the 1970 World Cup, the mere mention of his name is still enough to make football fans of a certain age go weak at the knees.
In an era when celebrity often clambers above talent in the mad scramble for public affection and attention, the great defender remains a colossus among midgets.
His presence and aura certainly caused a stir at City's Carrington training ground when he dropped in with his friend - who just happened to be Jairzinho - for a look at how things are done at the coalface of Premiership football.
Carlos Alberto led Brazil to glory in the greatest World Cup final of them all - with all due respect to Sir Alf and lads - against Italy in a bouncing, throbbing Azteca Stadium in Mexico back in 1970.
He was in sparkling form as he explained what England have to do to turn themselves from also-rans to the best in the business. And he had some kind words, too, for the man he popped into see - former Blues' star turned director Dennis Tueart.
Public
The wily defender Carlos Alberto and the wiry attacker Tueart were footballing missionaries in America in the 1970s.
As the right flank of the all-star, all-conquering New York Cosmos team, they sold `soccer' to a doubting US public that had been raised on a diet of gridiron, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.
There was more than a touch of show business about the Big Apple footballing fraternity in those days and Carlos Alberto, World Cup winning captain, friend of Pele, and scorer of one of the finest Jules Rimet Trophy goals of all time in that most classic of deciders against Italy, certainly still has the swagger of a man who knows his place in the pantheon of footballing greats.
Where he differs, even on first meeting, with some of those who have followed in his boot prints and whose egos are only matched by the size and weight of their wallets, is that the brilliant Brazilian still has enough humour, humility and open warmth to fill every dressing room in England.
Now 62, Carlos Alberto is a big man in every way and doesn't mince his words.
He didn't hesitate when asked what England have to do in order to take the leap from making up the numbers in international competitions to winning one of them for the first time since 1966.
"They have immense talent but they have to find some more determination and heart in their play," declared the legend, thumping his chest as if to emphasise the point.
"The English are good players, I believe that. But it is not enough just to go out and play football today.
"You have to have that special ingredient to win World Cups: and that comes down to heart and desire.
"Before the last World Cup, I told the English press that their country had a very good team, good enough at least to make the final in Germany.
"English football is followed all over the world and their team is well-known everywhere. Give football fans in America or Brazil a minute and ask them to name more than three of the German side or the Spanish national team and they would struggle.
"Ask them the same question about England and the names would roll off the tongue. Cole, Terry, Ferdinand, Beckham, Gerrard and Rooney; they are famous all over the world.
World
"Our team in 1970 had some great players in it. I think, though, that quite a few of the current England side would have found a place in it in terms of individual technical ability, although that doesn't always make for the best team.
"I think Rio Ferdinand, for instance, is the best central defender in the world and that captain John Terry goes up and up and gets better and better every day. Gerrard and Lampard are two of the best around. In Brazil, I told them that Lampard is one of the top midfielders because he can defend and attack equally well, and you do not see that very often.
"As for Wayne Rooney - he is only 21, and who knows how good he will be in three in four years' time!"
Having been the incomparable Pele's team-mate at club and international level from the moment he joined Santos from Fluminense at the age of 19 in 1966, there are few players better placed to measure true class than Carlos Alberto.
After leading Brazil to the World Cup in 1970, he returned to `Flu' and captured two league titles before irking the locals slightly by moving to Fluminense's great rivals Flamengo in 1977.
From there it was on to New York and the glitter and glamour of the North American Soccer League, where he was reunited with Pele and won consecutive titles in 1977 and 1978.
It was in the States that he struck up his friendship with Tueart - who joined Cosmos from City in time for the second title - and the bond has lasted ever since.
"Those were great days and nights," said Carlos with a twinkle his eye that suggested there might be more to tell than he was going to.
"We did something incredible and amazing there. In those days, soccer was the No1 or No2 sport in the US. Dennis and myself played along the right wing for the Cosmos.
He was a great player and I have great memories of him. In fact, I once told Jairzinho that if he had been born an Englishman and played at the same time as Dennis, then it would have been close as to who played on the right wing.
"I remember Dennis as a fine person and a fine player and I like to continue friendships with people like him."
Capped 53 times for his country with eight goals to his credit - and named by Pele in the game's top 125 living legends - Carlos Alberto played his last match in an exhibition match between Cosmos and Flamengo in 1982 but he wasn't lost to football for long.
He became manager in turn of Flamengo, Corinthians, Nautico, Botafogo, Fluminense and Paysandu, and then left the Brazilian domestic game for a short time to become the head coach of the Azerbaijan national side that played England twice in the qualification tournament for Germany 2006.
It was an experience he enjoyed, although he turned his back on a chance of a longer stay in the job.
"After the qualifying games, my contract ran out and I was offered a five-year deal by the Azerbaijan president," he revealed.
"My brief would have been to help develop football in that country, but I am not a young man anymore and didn't feel I could commit myself to such a long contract.
Wisdom
"I want to do something for two or three years maximum. To see a growth plan to fruition in Azerbaijan football and take the team to the next level would take at least 15 years.
"Even so, we did well in the qualifying games against England, losing 1-0 and 2-0. In previous years it might have been five, six, seven or eight!"
Now Carlos Alberto is content to dispense his wisdom and knowledge wherever and whenever asked and was impressed by what he saw at City's Carrington headquarters and with the job Stuart Pearce is doing with City.
"First of all, unless you have big star players, it is hard to win the Premiership," he noted. "That doesn't mean you cannot have a long and successful time as a coach and I am sure Stuart will do so. There is always something new to learn and to pass on in this job and one day I would like to see Stuart coaching a City side challenging for the title.
"I wish him all the best and there are certainly the facilities at City to have a very successful and improving side. I have been very impressed.
"The coach has to rely on the board of directors to a certain extent, because the better the players, the further you can go. I saw Stuart was linked with the England job and there is no reason why he could not aspire to do that job in the future."
With that, Carlos Alberto was up and off, showing the deftness of movement that made him such a solid defender and dangerous attacker - and displaying the still-burning desire to live and breath the beautiful game. His destination was the training ground again to watch a young England right-back go through his paces and perhaps reminisce just for a short while.
CARLOS Alberto and Jairzinho were in England courtesy of Allstarsignings Limited, who can be contacted at their website www.allstarsignings.com Tweet