'Right backs should be the highest-paid players!': Brazil icon Cafu on why Trent Alexander-Arnold has taken the position to 'another level' and will star at Qatar 2022, lifting the World Cup and his verdict on Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher!
- For Cafu there is one English right back who stands out - Trent Alexander-Arnold
- Ex-Brazil star believes the Liverpool right back can challenge for the Ballon d'Or
- 'Full backs should be seen as the main protagonists in the game,' Cafu says
- Cafu lifted the World Cup in 2002 and believes Brazil can achieve glory in Qatar
No kid wants to grow up and be a Gary Neville.
Even from the other side of the world in sunny Sao Paulo, Cafu is laughing at Jamie Carragher's infamous assertion.
The Brazil legend understands the sentiment, but protests: 'No, no, Gary Neville was a fantastic full back. He would genuinely get to the by-line. He played without fear. He was a leader.'
![Brazil's legendary right back Cafu spoke to Sportsmail's Craig Hope over video call](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37017220-9068603-Brazil_s_legendary_right_back_Cafu_spoke_to_Sportsmail_s_Craig_H-m-20_1608316937236.jpg)
Brazil's legendary right back Cafu spoke to Sportsmail's Craig Hope over video call
![For Cafu, though, there is one English right back who stands out - Trent Alexander-Arnold (L)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018730-9068603-image-a-22_1608317159859.jpg)
For Cafu, though, there is one English right back who stands out - Trent Alexander-Arnold (L)
What about Carragher?
'He was very good, too.' Less effusive, but polite all the same.
Carragher made his claim about young players not aspiring to be right backs in 2013. Roll on seven years and England are blessed with talent in the position, a fact not lost on Cafu, the most decorated right back in history and owner of a record 142 caps for his country.
So, if not Neville, who did influence Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James, Kieran Tripper, Kyle Walker and Aaron Wan-Bissaka?
Perhaps, we venture, it is the man talking to Sportsmail, sitting at home to the backdrop of a personal trophy cabinet to rival that of any top club.
We tell him that, in this country, any promising right back with a desire to cross halfway is readily labelled 'the next Cafu'. Even Alan Hutton.
![Sportsmail informs Cafu that right back with desire to cross halfway is labelled 'the next Cafu'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37017222-9068603-image-a-2_1608316350917.jpg)
Sportsmail informs Cafu that right back with desire to cross halfway is labelled 'the next Cafu'
'That makes me happy,' says the two-time World Cup winner and captain of the victorious 2002 team. 'I'm the only player in history to have played in three consecutive World Cup finals.
'So I hope I do inspire these young English players in the way they play. Previously, no one wanted to be a full back, so we are pioneers of our position.'
For Cafu, though, there is one who stands out - Alexander-Arnold. He nods and smiles at mere mention of his name.
'I can see the similarities,' he says of the Liverpool star and himself. 'He's not afraid to attack, defends well, good passer, hits a great free-kick. He will be a star at the next World Cup.'
![Cafu believes that Liverpool right back Alexander-Arnold can challenge for the Ballon d'Or](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018502-9068603-image-a-11_1608316581933.jpg)
Cafu believes that Liverpool right back Alexander-Arnold can challenge for the Ballon d'Or
Cafu isn't done yet. He wants to make the point that Alexander-Arnold can challenge for the Ballon d'Or.
'He can take the position of right back to another level. I think we've started changing the narrative, the way people view full backs.
'It's not just the goalscorer who should be the best player in the world. It is totally wrong that some great players never won the Ballon d'Or because of their position. Nowadays, full backs should be seen as the main protagonists in the game.'
In Brazil, Cafu argues, there has always been more appreciation for the role. He lists Djalma Santos, World Cup winner in 1958 and 1962, and Carlos Alberto, captain of the great 1970 team, as names children like himself would imitate on the streets and beaches.
It has taken the rest of the world a little while to catch up.
![In Brazil, Cafu argues, there has always been more appreciation for the role of right back](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018444-9068603-image-m-7_1608316446652.jpg)
In Brazil, Cafu argues, there has always been more appreciation for the role of right back
'Right backs now should be the highest paid players in every team!' declares the 50-year-old. 'Strikers just have to score. Midfielders, they pass. Goalkeepers make saves. Full backs have to mark, cover centre backs and midfield, get forward and cross, take shots and provide the link to strikers.
'Pep Guardiola recognises this. A team with two great full backs poses a far greater threat. You won't do very well without that.'
Cafu's teams, it should be noted, did very well. It was with good reason he was dubbed 'The Lungs of Brazil' and 'The Express Train'.
So are there any regrets from his playing career?
He swivels in his chair, arms outstretched towards the silverware behind him. That'll be a no, then.
![Cafu was sat at home to the backdrop of a personal trophy cabinet to rival that of any top club](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37017224-9068603-Cafu_was_sat_at_home_to_the_backdrop_of_a_personal_trophy_cabine-m-21_1608317059150.jpg)
Cafu was sat at home to the backdrop of a personal trophy cabinet to rival that of any top club
Marcos Evangelista de Morais was born on June 7, 1970. What else was happening that afternoon?
'Brazil were playing England in the World Cup!' booms Cafu, who was later nicknamed after a flying right-sided player for Fluminense.
Now if you want to capture the Brazilian obsession with football, what Cafu says next is a sound starting point.
!['Right backs now should be the highest paid players in every team!' declared the 50-year-old](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37017218-9068603-image-a-5_1608316411435.jpg)
'Right backs now should be the highest paid players in every team!' declared the 50-year-old
'My dad was saying to the nurse, 'Let's go, let's go, I want to watch Brazil, this boy needs to be born now'. But the nurse wanted to watch the football just as much as he did!'
The midwife implored the baby to arrive, 'Come on, little Pele', she encouraged.
'So I was born right in the middle of the match. Brazil, 1-0, Jairzinho! I think it's from that moment I was destined to become world champion.'
Cafu delivers the scorer's name with all the verve of a Latin commentator, just as he did when recreating the goal as a child in the Jardim Irene favela in Sao Paulo.
![Cafu lifted the World Cup in 2002 as Brazil overcame Germany in the final in Japan](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018492-9068603-image-m-35_1608317392371.jpg)
Cafu lifted the World Cup in 2002 as Brazil overcame Germany in the final in Japan
'I made balls out of socks, filled with newspaper, pages from schoolbooks. We'd play on the street with flip-flops for goalposts, barefoot on the concrete and come home with our big toenails missing from kicking the ground. It was the happiest thing in the world.'
Cafu never got the chance to meet the player he was named after. Cafuringa died aged 42 in 1991 after contracting sepsis following an injury playing football.
'I would have loved to meet him,' he says. 'He was my inspiration, we played the same way.'
The subject is not an easy one. Last September, Cafu's eldest son, Danilo, died aged 30 after suffering a heart attack while playing football. Cafu carried him from the pitch on his shoulders and drove him to hospital, but doctors were unable to revive him.
![Cafu played for AC Milan and was part of side that was beaten by Liverpool in Istanbul in 2005](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018498-9068603-image-m-19_1608316774208.jpg)
Cafu played for AC Milan and was part of side that was beaten by Liverpool in Istanbul in 2005
We have been asked not to talk about Danilo because the loss is still too raw, and we respect those wishes. He has not been able to enter his son's bedroom since. The only time he has spoken about it, Cafu revealed that he cries every day to relieve the pain.
But we do talk about his grandchildren, and Cafu beams with pride, especially at mention of a video of him teaching his grandson to take penalties.
'He's much better than me,' he smiles.
Cafu did not take a penalty during Brazil's shootout victory over Italy in the World Cup Final of 1994 - he jokes that even Diana Ross was ahead of him in the pecking order - but he was set for the seventh spot-kick when AC Milan were beaten by Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League Final following a 3-3 draw.
![](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018446-9068603-image-m-17_1608316654914.jpg)
He denies Milan were celebrating as they led 3-0 at half-time, and says: 'We didn't expect Liverpool to react the way they did. There was carelessness from us, but all credit to them for believing they could turn it around. They deserved it.'
Equally, Cafu has no complaints about the one World Cup final he did lose, 3-0 to hosts France in 1998. He was in the hotel room before the game when star player Ronaldo suffered a convulsion and team-mate Cesar Sampaio pulled his tongue from his throat.
Cafu did not think Ronaldo should have played, but concedes: 'I could offer so many excuses, but we lost because France played better than us. Ronaldo being fully fit? I don't think it would have made a difference.'
Four years later, in Japan, Brazil reclaimed the trophy, beating Germany 2-0. Only 11 living mortals can answer the following question, and Cafu is one of them.
What is it like to lift the World Cup as captain?
'Pele handed me the trophy, I looked at it and thought, 'Lord, we did it'. It feels like fireworks going off on the moon. Only those who have held that trophy can know what I'm talking about.'
Cafu was asked to stand on a tall glass plinth before lifting the World Cup.
![Cafu made 142 appearances for Brazil between 1990 and 2006, in which he scored five goals](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018728-9068603-image-m-24_1608317173296.jpg)
Cafu made 142 appearances for Brazil between 1990 and 2006, in which he scored five goals
'I didn't care if I was going to fall and hurt myself or if the podium was going to break. I knew that it was made out of glass and it could smash or collapse, but you're so overwhelmed with joy you don't even think about what you're doing. If it had collapsed I would have got up and lifted the trophy all the same!'
Brazil had beaten England 2-1 in the quarter-final. But does Cafu remember who played left wing for England?
'Ashley Cole,' he says. 'He was very similar to me, always getting forward. We were constantly up against each other at both ends.'
It was actually Trevor Sinclair on the left of midfield. Did Cafu forget about him?
'No, but he was very well marked…'
![Brazil had beaten England 2-1 in 2002 quarter-final - Cafu came up against Trevor Sinclair (L)](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37018554-9068603-image-a-18_1608316762250.jpg)
Brazil had beaten England 2-1 in 2002 quarter-final - Cafu came up against Trevor Sinclair (L)
It should come as little surprise that Cafu's great hobby away from football involves travelling at speed.
'Every Sunday I go out on my motorbike. About 50 of us, visiting different towns in the countryside. I think I need that speed, it replaces the thrill of running down the wing!'
On Wednesdays he distributes meals to the homeless. He also has the Cafu Foundation in Jardim Irene, the favela to which he often returns only to find most of his childhood friends long gone, either dead or in prison.
'The foundation is about giving children opportunities and empowering them as full citizens, instead of losing so many to the world of drugs,' he says.
Cafu's status in Brazil allows him to make a difference. He admits, though, that conversation with the man on the street never gets far beyond World Cup memories.
![Cafu is an ambassador for the next World Cup in Qatar and is backing Brazil to come out on top](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/12/18/18/37017226-9068603-image-a-4_1608316374326.jpg)
Cafu is an ambassador for the next World Cup in Qatar and is backing Brazil to come out on top
But he also wants to talk about the next tournament in Qatar, for which he is an ambassador. Two years from now we will know the winners, the final having been played on December 18.
There is one myth he is keen to address.
'The weather will not be a problem,' he says, with average temperatures around 22C. 'Remember, I played in the 1994 World Cup Final in the Rose Bowl in California at 1pm - it was like there was a sun over each player!
'And that World Cup was so spread out. This, in Qatar, it will have the intimacy of the Olympics, completely different to what we're used to. Fans will not regret coming to Qatar. The stadiums are incredible, luxurious and comfortable. I think this will be a unique tournament.'
And the winner?
'Brazil will beat England in the final!'
Now that would make for a good World Cup.
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