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June 29, 2002
YOKOHAMA, Japan -- Win or lose in Sunday's World Cup final, Cafu has assured his place in soccer history.
When the opening whistle blows, Cafu will become the only player to appear in three consecutive finals. He also will have played in 16 World Cup games, more than any other Brazilian -- even Pele.
"For me, this is the Cup of breaking records," the defender from the Italian team AS Roma said after practice Friday. "It's a personal conquest."
Pele played on Cup champions in 1958, '62 and '70. But he spent much of his first Cup on the bench and missed most of the next one with an injury.
Four years later, Brazil was knocked out in the first round. Pele left the national team after the '70 Cup and 14 games.
The only other nation to reach three consecutive finals was West Germany/Germany, in 1982, '86 and '90. But no player was on all three teams.
"All I can say is this is my destiny," Cafu said.
Actually, it was a combination of skill, endurance and luck that accounted for his achievement.
Cafu broke on the Brazilian professional scene at 19 with Sao Paulo, playing defense, midfield and on the attack.
He quickly caught the attention of national team coach Paulo Roberto Falcao, who took over after Brazil's second-round elimination in 1990 with a mandate to start afresh.
He told Cafu his future was at right back, and the advice changed his career.
After winning back-to-back South American and world club titles with Sao Paulo, Cafu was selected to Brazil's 1994 team.
His endurance impressed even FIFA president Joao Havelange, who urged coach Carlos Alberto Parreira to find a spot for him.
Although a backup for Jorginho, Cafu played in three games and helped Brazil to its record fourth championship.
After the Cup, he went to Spain's Real Zaragoza and Brazil's Juventude and Palmeiras before moving to AS Roma in 1997.
Then came the traumatic '98 Cup. Cafu was a starter when favored Brazil lost 3-0 in the final to host France.
As Brazil prepares for Sunday's final against Germany, Cafu wants to erase those memories.
"We have to forget everything about '98," he said. "We can't bring anything that happened in '98 onto the field.
"It's a different final, a different opponent."
At 32, Cafu has no rivals. For many years, there has been a dearth of top-class players at his position in Brazil.
If he doesn't have the boundless energy of before, he still can run the flank -- and more. And when coach Luiz Felipe Scolari asked him to sacrifice his offense to protect the back line, he changed his game.
"Cafu is so important to us," Scolari said. "He's not a great marker.
But when we asked him, he was perfect. He sacrificed himself for the team."
When captain Emerson was injured and cut from the team on the eve of the Cup, Scolari didn't hesitate to give the captain's armband to Cafu.
Cafu admits the records are special, but he envisions something else -- raising the World Cup as captain of the championship team.
"I'm anxious to raise the Cup," he said. "All these achievements will be crowned if we win the Cup."