INTERVIEW-Cafu sole survivor of a bold experiment
By Camila Moreira
SAO PAULO, May 16 - Brazil's second-round exit at the 1990 World Cup led to a backlash against foreign-based players who were accused of lacking dedication and effort.
So for their first game after the finals, a friendly against Spain, coach Falcao opted for a bold experiment of fielding only local players.
The experiment went badly wrong and a frightened-looking bunch of inexperienced youngsters were outclassed 3-0.
Most of those who played quickly slipped back into obscurity and all have now retired -- with one exception.
Cafu, who made his debut that day at the age of 20 and played out of position at left back, went on to make history by becoming the first player to appear in three successive World Cup finals and lifted the trophy as captain in 2002.
Marcos Evangelista Morais, to give him his full name, is 36 next month and will again lead his country into battle in Germany as they attempt to win an unprecedented sixth world title.
"Of course I think about it (breaking records), it's one of my big goals," he told Reuters in a telephone interview from Milan, where he plays his club football.
"First, I want to go to the World Cup, then beat these records and get to the final. It will be marvellous for me if we can reach these three targets."
SIX CHILDREN
He has come a long way from his humble upbringing in Jardim Irene, a rough working-class district on the outskirts of Sao Paulo where he now runs the Cafu foundation aimed at keeping teenagers off the streets.
One of six children, all of whose names began with M, Cafu was born during Brazil's 1970 World Cup match against England.
He began his professional career with Sao Paulo in 1988 though he had to try hard to get in.
As a boy, he went for a number of trials and was rejected at them all. So he tried his luck elsewhere.
He went to a training school set up by former Uruguayan player Pedro Rocha, then the youth divisions of Nacional, followed by Portuguesa and Itaquaquecetuba, where he was discovered by Sao Paulo talent spotters.
He stayed at Sao Paulo until 1995, blossoming under coach Tele Santana and playing in the team which won two successive Libertadores Cup titles.
In the meantime, his Brazil career was also progressing. He played at the 1991 and 1993 Copa America and was picked for the 1994 World Cup as reserve to Jorginho.
His big chance came when Jorginho was injured after 17 minutes of the final against Italy and he came on as a substitute.
Since then, he has not had a serious challenger to the right back position and has made 144 appearances.
He sees Real Madrid's Cicinho as a natural successor -- but only after the World Cup is over.
"They've been chasing after a full back for several years," he said. "Now they've found one with a lot of quality and we hope that after the World Cup he can carry on with the job.
Despite making the position his own, Cafu has still had to face the critics. Many complain about his crossing, others about his defending.
"The Brazilian defence has always been criticised," the AC Milan player said. "Ever since I've been playing football, I've seen them criticising the defence.
"As far as I'm concerned, when we win, everyone wins, and when we lose, everyone loses."
LOW POINT
His low point came in 2000 under Vanderlei Luxemburgo when he was sent off in a World Cup qualifier in Paraguay.
Suspended from the following game against Argentina, Cafu had permission to go home but was then accused by the media of abandoning his team mates in their hour of need.
Another disappointment was the 1-0 defeat at home to Argentina shortly before the 1998 World Cup and he was cruelly booed by the Maracana stadium.
Cafu has got used to picking himself up after each setback and is ready for the latest challenge.
He said that these finals, when Brazil start as hot favourites, will be very different from 2002, when they were in the unusual position of underdogs.
"We're aware that Brazil are good enough to win the World Cup," he said. "We're favourites but we haven't won anything yet. We're going to pay extra attention and run a lot to turn this favouritism into reality.
"For the time being, we're only favourites on paper."
"The difference this time is that we have to prove that we're great champions, regardless of whether the players are getting on a bit or not."
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Rio de Janeiro)
This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index
MORE SPORTS HEADLINES
RECENT ACTIVITY
-
TOOLS
- Contact Us
- Corrections
- Daily Line
- RSS