The former captain says that the Seleção will approach the World Cup with the same winning spirit that saw them be victorious in the Confederations Cup and that they have everything it takes to become world champions.
Cafu was captain of the national side when they won the World Cup in 2002 and he is confident that the current crop of players have what it takes to win this time around.
In an interview with FIFA’s official website, the 43-year-old said that he was impressed by the spirit the team showed during last year’s Confederations Cup and that, although this year’s tournament will be difficult, the atmosphere will be similar.
“Let’s go for it with the same attitude that we went for it in the final (of the Confederations Cup). With the aura of champions, winners, they beat Spain 3-0. It was a day when everything went well. Neymar scored a goal, with his left foot, and at just the right time. Fred scored whilst on the floor. But this only happens to teams that really believe. The team thought that they would win. Of course, it’s a different competition and is more difficult. But Brazil is the team to beat.”
With 142 caps to his name, Cafu has the experience to know that it’s important to have a united team.
“A team that isn’t united won’t win the World Cup. Alone, nobody wins the World Cup. Don’t tell me that Pelé, Maradona or Lothar Mattheus won the World Cup on their own. It’s not true. There is always a team that gives support to the star players. In 1994 and 2002 our focus was on one thing: the trophy. You need talent, that’s obvious. We had sufficient. But if these talents had played alone, Brazil wouldn’t have won the World Cups.”
