Cafu

Hi, galera! How are you? Today in our Dica we are going to talk about a great Brazilian football player! Did you know Cafu was so famous he played for AC Milan and Rome? And also that Cafu was key to one of the Brazil World Cup victories?

Cafu, the Footballer

Marcos Evangelista de Morais was born on June 7th 1970, and is known as Cafu. He is a former professional football player who played as a defender, in fact the most internationally capped Brazilian player of all time! He played for the Brazilian Team in four different FIFA World Cups between 1994 and 2006. He is the only Brazilian to have played in three consecutive World Cup finals, winning in 1994 and 2002, the last one as team captain, when he had the honor of receiving and raising into the air the World Cup trophy.

Cafu started his career and drew national attention playing for São Paulo, with this team, he was part of the group who won Taça Libertadores da América twice (1992, 1993) and the Intercontinental Cup (1992, 1993). Playing for São Paulo he also won the National League in 1991. After a short period of time playing for Real Zaragoza (1994-1995) and SE Palmeiras (1996), Cafu arrived at AS Roma where he played for six seasons and won the National League in 2001. In 2003, Cafu moved to AC Milan and had a successful career there winning the National League (2003-2004), UEFA Champions League (2006-2007) and FIFA Club World Cup (2007). Shortly after this he retired from football and was honored in the AC Milan and AS Roma Halls of Fame. Let’s see a video of some highlights:

Cafu in Brazil

Cafu is another player who has had a very successful career with the Brazilian Team. With 142 appearances and 6 goals. He represented Brazil in four Word Cups, and has the record of playing in three consecutive finals (1994, 1998, 2002) winning the World Cups of 1994 and 2002. He also won Copa America twice (1997, 1999) and FIFA Confederations Cup (1997). Let’s see the greatest moment of his career where he raises the FIFA World Trophy as the Brazilian captain:

Some Curiosities About His Career

• Before starting his professional career playing for São Paulo, Cafu was rejected by 9 different teams during try-outs :O
• He is the player who has played most in the Brazilian Team during the Word Cups, 20 matches in total.
• Cafu is very famous on Instagram. He is always posting about his career and his current projects!
• Before receiving the FIFA World Cup trophy in 2002, he yelled: Regina, eu te amo! (Regina, I love you!). Regina is his wife and this gesture went viral in Brazil.

Vocabulary for Cafu’s Soccer

jogador de futebol	football player
Copa do Mundo	World Cup
capitão	captain
troféu	trophy
temporadas	seasons
aposentou	retired
homenageado	honored
consecutivas	consecutive
melhor	greatest
rejeitado	rejected

That’s it, my friends! We’ve learned a bit more about this amazing Brazilian footballer. Cafu will forever be a hero for Brazil because of his dedication playing for his country in the World Cup Championships. But we are sure that Cafu is now part of the history of AC Milan and Roma as well!

Hugs from Rio de Janeiro!
Bye, bye!

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