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Brazilian great Cafu knows more than just a thing or two about FIFA World Cups. The only player to have played three in a row, winning two of them, the last as captain in 2002, he also led Brazil, to their record fifth World Cup triumph. The most capped male footballer for Brazil speaks his mind ahead of Copa America and the current Brazilian team looking forward
to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Excerpts
Can you tell us about some of your favourite memories from Copa América? Are there any moments that stand out?
During my career I had the privilege of playing for Brazil at the Copa America four times winning it in both ‘97 and ‘99. The Copa América experience is always amazing for a player as playing for your country at this tournament is a special moment in any career. It is always an extremely competitive competition with the best players in the world. A lot of people don’t view the Copa América as being as important as winning the World Cup, but when it starts, nobody wants to lose.
Obviously winning the competition on two occasions with Brazil is my favourite memory of Copa but If I had to pick one standout moment from a game it would probably be Ronaldinho’s goal against Venezuela on his debut for Brazil. I passed the pass to him at the edge of the box and flicked the ball past two defenders with some great skill to score a beautiful goal. It was just the first of many beautiful goals that he would score for Brazil and something he did regularly throughout his brilliant career.
The Brazil national team during the 90s was full of incredible talent. What made that generation of players so special? Can Brazil reach those heights again?
What made the Brazilian team of 1990s unforgettable is not only winning titles but the way that Brazil won titles. From 1990 to 2006 the Brazilian team won almost every competition it played in, including Copa América, Confederations Cup and the World Cup. Brazil created a very strong identity during this time in the minds of the fans, other players, the press, the critics. I think this identity of playing the Brazilian way is also what made this team special. During that time everyone had the desire and belief to try and win every game the Brazil way. This made us very difficult to beat.
Of course, I think Brazil can reach these heights again. Brazil will always be a very competitive team on the world stage because as a country we love football and always produce talented players. What the current Brazil team need is a long streak of great games and great results and I think this will lead to great achievements once again.
How do you rate the current crop of Brazilian players? Do you think Brazil can challenge for the Copa América title this year?
Looking at the current crop of Brazilian players I think it is a good squad with impressive individual and technical quality. Without a shadow of a doubt this team can fight to win this year’s Copa América. I think they are the team that everyone has to beat at this year’s tournament. Everybody always wants to beat the Brazilian team, but I think that if these boys combine their talents and put in strong team performances, then surely Brazil will have a great result at Copa América. Winning the tournament would be the perfect way to prepare and build confidence ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
What other teams do you fear most in this year’s Copa América?
At Copa América, all of the teams are fearsome such as Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. They are teams that have already won the Copa América and believe they can do it again. They are teams that will show up with their full strength to fight for the trophy and believe they can win just like the Brazilian team, so I think you must fear all these great opponents.
Are there any young players that you are excited to watch at this year’s Copa América?
One of the most exciting things about international tournaments is that almost every time at least one player announces himself as the next revelation in the football world. So, of course we all hope that this Copa América can reveal more great talents, great talents like Ronaldinho, who announced himself in one of the Copa Americas I participated in. Today, it’s too early to talk about revelations and great players because this will be an extremely competitive Copa América, so I think it will take a mix of both the young and experienced to shine for any given team to win at this year’s tournament. Let’s hope for a great tournament and one where we uncover a few more stars for the future and players that could go on to have a major impact at the 2022.
How much of an impact do you think the South American teams can have at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022?
When you look at the South American teams and the World Cup qualifying groups it is definitely one of the most competitive regions in the world. We have eight teams that are fully capable of going to Qatar and winning the World Cup in 2022. Of course, the European teams will also be strong, but I think that all of the South American teams that go to the World Cup will have a great chance of winning the tournament if the conditions are right and everything falls into place for them.
You visited Qatar earlier this year for the FIFA Club World Cup. Can you tell us a bit about what your experience? Were you impressed by the progress in Qatar?
I had the opportunity to visit Qatar earlier this year for the FIFA Club World Cup. My experience of the country during this tournament was wonderful as I had the opportunity to watch great games and see great teams in the stands as a fan. Watching football in Qatar’s new state of the art stadiums is the stuff of dreams for someone that loves football. Everything has been considered to make the fan experience as positive as possible.
Qatar had changed a lot since my last visit before the pandemic. Every year the country progresses at such a fast rate that it is like visiting a new city or country. The infrastructure is now 95% complete so they are almost ready for next year’s World Cup that I believe will be one of the greatest in history. I think it is going to be incredible and people will want to be there to experience it.
I am very impressed by the way Qatar has dedicated themselves to ensuring this is an amazing tournament. I know they are excited to welcome fans from all over the world in 2022 and that everyone will be welcome for what I think will be a global celebration of our beautiful game.
Qatar 2022 will be the most compact World Cup ever.
What impact will this have on players and fans?
At Qatar 2022 you will have an entire World Cup compacted into a small area. You will have all the venues, fan zones and facilities in one place with just a short distance to travel between any two venues. For example, the longest distance between stadiums is just 75km so fans will be able to watch two or maybe even three live games in a single day. This is fantastic as fans will get to watch more football than ever before at the World Cup. You can have a fixed base for 45 days and you won’t have to change locations. This is wonderful for the fans, but it is also great for the players. With less travel the players won’t be as tired as they can get more rest between games which should hopefully result in better performances on the pitch and less injuries.
During my trip to Qatar earlier this year I had the opportunity to travel across Doha on a motorbike with a local motorcycle group. I love riding my motorbike in Brazil, so this was an incredible experience for me. We travelled the longest distance possible between two World Cup stadiums – from Al Janoub to Al Bayt – taking in all the beautiful sights along the way. The journey took us just over one hour in total which really highlighted to me just how compact this World Cup will be. All the fans and everyone in Qatar for the World Cup will be part of the action from start to finish and it should help create a special atmosphere.
Brazilian great Cafu knows more than just a thing or two about FIFA World Cups. The only player to have played three in a row, winning two of them, the last as captain in 2002, he also led Brazil, to their record fifth World Cup triumph. The most capped male footballer for Brazil speaks his mind ahead of Copa America and the current Brazilian team looking forward
to FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Excerpts
Can you tell us about some of your favourite memories from Copa América? Are there any moments that stand out?
During my career I had the privilege of playing for Brazil at the Copa America four times winning it in both ‘97 and ‘99. The Copa América experience is always amazing for a player as playing for your country at this tournament is a special moment in any career. It is always an extremely competitive competition with the best players in the world. A lot of people don’t view the Copa América as being as important as winning the World Cup, but when it starts, nobody wants to lose.
Obviously winning the competition on two occasions with Brazil is my favourite memory of Copa but If I had to pick one standout moment from a game it would probably be Ronaldinho’s goal against Venezuela on his debut for Brazil. I passed the pass to him at the edge of the box and flicked the ball past two defenders with some great skill to score a beautiful goal. It was just the first of many beautiful goals that he would score for Brazil and something he did regularly throughout his brilliant career.
The Brazil national team during the 90s was full of incredible talent. What made that generation of players so special? Can Brazil reach those heights again?
What made the Brazilian team of 1990s unforgettable is not only winning titles but the way that Brazil won titles. From 1990 to 2006 the Brazilian team won almost every competition it played in, including Copa América, Confederations Cup and the World Cup. Brazil created a very strong identity during this time in the minds of the fans, other players, the press, the critics. I think this identity of playing the Brazilian way is also what made this team special. During that time everyone had the desire and belief to try and win every game the Brazil way. This made us very difficult to beat.
Of course, I think Brazil can reach these heights again. Brazil will always be a very competitive team on the world stage because as a country we love football and always produce talented players. What the current Brazil team need is a long streak of great games and great results and I think this will lead to great achievements once again.
How do you rate the current crop of Brazilian players? Do you think Brazil can challenge for the Copa América title this year?
Looking at the current crop of Brazilian players I think it is a good squad with impressive individual and technical quality. Without a shadow of a doubt this team can fight to win this year’s Copa América. I think they are the team that everyone has to beat at this year’s tournament. Everybody always wants to beat the Brazilian team, but I think that if these boys combine their talents and put in strong team performances, then surely Brazil will have a great result at Copa América. Winning the tournament would be the perfect way to prepare and build confidence ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
What other teams do you fear most in this year’s Copa América?
At Copa América, all of the teams are fearsome such as Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. They are teams that have already won the Copa América and believe they can do it again. They are teams that will show up with their full strength to fight for the trophy and believe they can win just like the Brazilian team, so I think you must fear all these great opponents.
Are there any young players that you are excited to watch at this year’s Copa América?
One of the most exciting things about international tournaments is that almost every time at least one player announces himself as the next revelation in the football world. So, of course we all hope that this Copa América can reveal more great talents, great talents like Ronaldinho, who announced himself in one of the Copa Americas I participated in. Today, it’s too early to talk about revelations and great players because this will be an extremely competitive Copa América, so I think it will take a mix of both the young and experienced to shine for any given team to win at this year’s tournament. Let’s hope for a great tournament and one where we uncover a few more stars for the future and players that could go on to have a major impact at the 2022.
How much of an impact do you think the South American teams can have at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022?
When you look at the South American teams and the World Cup qualifying groups it is definitely one of the most competitive regions in the world. We have eight teams that are fully capable of going to Qatar and winning the World Cup in 2022. Of course, the European teams will also be strong, but I think that all of the South American teams that go to the World Cup will have a great chance of winning the tournament if the conditions are right and everything falls into place for them.
You visited Qatar earlier this year for the FIFA Club World Cup. Can you tell us a bit about what your experience? Were you impressed by the progress in Qatar?
I had the opportunity to visit Qatar earlier this year for the FIFA Club World Cup. My experience of the country during this tournament was wonderful as I had the opportunity to watch great games and see great teams in the stands as a fan. Watching football in Qatar’s new state of the art stadiums is the stuff of dreams for someone that loves football. Everything has been considered to make the fan experience as positive as possible.
Qatar had changed a lot since my last visit before the pandemic. Every year the country progresses at such a fast rate that it is like visiting a new city or country. The infrastructure is now 95% complete so they are almost ready for next year’s World Cup that I believe will be one of the greatest in history. I think it is going to be incredible and people will want to be there to experience it.
I am very impressed by the way Qatar has dedicated themselves to ensuring this is an amazing tournament. I know they are excited to welcome fans from all over the world in 2022 and that everyone will be welcome for what I think will be a global celebration of our beautiful game.
Qatar 2022 will be the most compact World Cup ever.
What impact will this have on players and fans?
At Qatar 2022 you will have an entire World Cup compacted into a small area. You will have all the venues, fan zones and facilities in one place with just a short distance to travel between any two venues. For example, the longest distance between stadiums is just 75km so fans will be able to watch two or maybe even three live games in a single day. This is fantastic as fans will get to watch more football than ever before at the World Cup. You can have a fixed base for 45 days and you won’t have to change locations. This is wonderful for the fans, but it is also great for the players. With less travel the players won’t be as tired as they can get more rest between games which should hopefully result in better performances on the pitch and less injuries.
During my trip to Qatar earlier this year I had the opportunity to travel across Doha on a motorbike with a local motorcycle group. I love riding my motorbike in Brazil, so this was an incredible experience for me. We travelled the longest distance possible between two World Cup stadiums – from Al Janoub to Al Bayt – taking in all the beautiful sights along the way. The journey took us just over one hour in total which really highlighted to me just how compact this World Cup will be. All the fans and everyone in Qatar for the World Cup will be part of the action from start to finish and it should help create a special atmosphere.