Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu (), is a Brazilian former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a right-back. Widely regarded as one of the greatest full-backs of all time, he is known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank. He is the most-capped player for the Brazil national team with 142 appearances. At club level, Cafu won several domestic and international titles while playing in Brazil, Spain, and Italy; he is best known for his spells at

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

(1989–1995), Roma (1997–2003), and

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

(2003–08), teams with which he made history, although he also played briefly for

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

, Juventude, and Palmeiras during a two-year spell from 1995 to 1997. In 1994, Cafu was crowned South American Footballer of the Year, and in 2004, was named by

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

in the

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

list of the world's greatest living players. He was additionally named to the FIFPro World XI in 2005, and in 2020 was included in the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Cafu represented his nation in four

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

s between 1994 and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, and is the only player in history to have appeared in three World Cup finals, both overall and consecutive, winning the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

editions of the tournament, the latter as his team's

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

where he lifted the World Cup trophy. With Brazil, he also took part in four editions of the

Copa América The CONMEBOL Copa América (; known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship), often simply called the Copa America, is the top men's quadrennial association football, football tournament contested among list of men's national ass ...

, winning the title twice, in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

; he was also a member of the national side that won the

1997 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup was the first FIFA Confederations Cup, Confederations Cup to be organized by FIFA. The tournament had previously been played in 1992 King Fahd Cup, 1992 and 1995 King Fahd Cup, 1995 as the King Fahd Cup. This editi ...

Early life

One of six children, Cafu was raised in the Jardim Irene

favela Favela () is an umbrella name for several types of impoverished neighborhoods in Brazil. The term, which means slum or ghetto, was first used in the Slum of Providência in the center of Rio de Janeiro in the late 19th century, which was b ...

. At the age of seven, he was able to attend a football academy and soon moved up to the junior sides of Nacional-SP, Portuguesa, and Itaquaquecetuba. He also played

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

for two years. As a child he received the nickname 'Cafu', in honor of the Brazilian winger Cafuringa. In the early 1980s, he was rejected from the youth squads of Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos, Atlético Mineiro, and Portuguesa, but it was not until 1988 that he made the youth squad of hometown club

, and subsequently won the ''Copa São Paulo'' youth tournament that year, but he did not play during the next season as São Paulo won the 1989

Campeonato Paulista The Campeonato Paulista Série A1, commonly known as Campeonato Paulista, nicknamed Paulistão, is the top-flight professional state football league in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. Run by the São Paulo State Football Federation (FPF), ...

Club career

It was during this time, however, that São Paulo youth coach Telê Santana became Cafu's mentor. He suggested that Cafu move from right midfield to wingback, a spot into which Cafu made the transition with ease despite never previously playing the position. He had soon anchored onto the first team, as São Paulo won back-to-back

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as Copa Libertadores de América (), is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in South American club football. The tournam ...

and Intercontinental Cup in 1992 and 1993. In 1994, he was named the South American Footballer of the Year. Halfway through the 1994–95 season, Cafu joined Spanish side

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

, winning the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

with them (though he had injury issues and did not play in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

). He then left Zaragoza to join Brazilian club Juventude. After a brief stint back in Brazil with Palmeiras in 1996, Cafu returned to Europe once again the next year, this time with Roma, and won the ''

Scudetto The ''scudetto'' (; Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous ...

'' in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. It was during his tenure at Roma that Cafu earned the nickname '' Il Pendolino'' ("The Express Train" or "The Commuter"). Despite making the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

final in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

with Roma, he moved to

, after turning down a move to Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos. With the ''Rossoneri'', he won his second career Scudetto in 2004, followed by his second

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

, and he played in his first UEFA Champions League final in 2005. The following season, he made fewer appearances for Milan due to injury and difficulties in his personal life. Despite his success with Milan, he continued to hold fond memories of his Roma years, and it was for that reason that on 4 March 2007 – the day after Milan eliminated

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

in the first knockout round of the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League – he candidly revealed in a UEFA.com chat that he did not want Milan to be drawn against the ''Giallorossi'' in the quarter-final round. He got his wish, as Milan were drawn against Bayern Munich. Milan's successful Champions League campaign saw Cafu finally pick up a long-awaited winners' medal, in a rematch of the 2005 final. Cafu signed a contract extension in May 2007 that would keep him with Milan until the end of the 2007–08 season, during which he won another UEFA Supercup, and his third world title at club level and now his first

FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup (FIFA CWC) is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (FIFA), the sport's global sports governing body, governing body. The compe ...

. On 16 May 2008, it was announced that Cafu and compatriot Serginho would be leaving Milan at the end of the season. In Cafu's last game of his Milan career, and of his professional career, he scored a goal in their 4–1 victory over Udinese. Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani stated that the door would be open to him to return to work for the club. He is a member of the

and the Roma Halls of Fame.

Passport controversy

Cafu was accused along with several other

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

players, including Roma teammate Fábio Júnior and Gustavo Bartelt, countryman and later Milan teammate Dida, of using a forged passport in their attempt to dodge regulations regarding the number of non-European players allowed on Italian club rosters. However, the charge was cleared by the

Italian Football Federation The Italian Football Federation (, ; FIGC ), known colloquially as (), is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence. It manages a ...

(FIGC) as Cafu's Italian passport was real and issued by Italian officials, but 13 others – including Dida – were banned. But Cafu faced another controversy that similar to Juan Sebastián Verón, accused that Cafu's wife, Regina used falsified documents to claim Italian nationality through Italian descent. Cafu acquired Italian nationality through marriage. In 2004, Cafu and Roma club president Franco Sensi went to court. On 12 June 2006, less than 24 hours before Brazil were to begin their 2006 World Cup campaign against

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, Rome prosecutor Angelantonio Racanelli called for the imprisonment of Cafu, his wife and his agent for nine months following the resurfacing of a false-passport scandal. The very next day, however, Cafu, his wife and agent were acquitted of all charges.

International career

Cafu is the most- capped Brazilian men's player of all time with 142 appearances, including a record 20

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

games. He has won two World Cups in

and

, as well as being the only player to participate in three World Cup final matches. Cafu also held the record of winning the most matches in World Cups with 15 (along with two games Brazil won on penalties), before being surpassed by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, ; born Mirosław Marian Klose; 9 June 1978) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who currently serves as head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg. A Forward (as ...

in the 2014 World Cup. He earned his first cap in a friendly against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

on 12 September 1990, and played sparingly for Brazil in the early 1990s, making the 1994 World Cup roster as a substitute. He appeared in the final against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, following an injury to Jorginho in the 22nd minute. After that, Cafu was soon a regular in the starting eleven as Brazil won the

and

, the

, and reached the 1998 World Cup

Brazil endured a rocky qualification for the 2002 tournament, during which Cafu came under heavy criticism from coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who stripped him of the team captaincy after he was sent off in a qualifier against

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. Shortly after that, however, Luxemburgo was out of a job, and replacement

Luiz Felipe Scolari Luiz Felipe Scolari (; born 9 November 1948), also known as Felipão ("Big Phil"), is a Brazilian football manager and former player who currently serves as the technical director of Grêmio. Considered to be one of the greatest and most su ...

made Emerson his new choice for captain. However, Emerson missed the cut after he dislocated his shoulder in training, which allowed Cafu to regain the armband. After Brazil defeated Germany 2–0 in the final match (Cafu's third consecutive World Cup final), he stood on the victory podium during the postmatch celebration and, as he raised the World Cup trophy, shouted to his wife, ''"Regina, eu te amo!"'' ("Regina, I love you!"). Cafu had also written "100% Jardim Irene" on his shirt as an homage to his upbringing. Three days after World Cup victory, Cafu spent some time in Bangu on Amanajó Street alongside former Bangu AC coach and notable fan Pombo and his cousin, a long time Cafu's friend. Cafu and Brazil fell short of high expectations placed on the squad four years later in

, as Brazil meekly exited in the quarter-finals after a 1–0 defeat by

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Coach

Carlos Alberto Parreira Carlos Alberto Gomes Parreira (born 27 February 1943) is a Brazilian former football manager who holds the record for attending the most FIFA World Cup final tournaments as manager with six appearances. He also managed five different national t ...

was criticized for featuring fading veterans, most notably the 36-year-old Cafu and 33-year-old Roberto Carlos, in the starting eleven in lieu of younger players. Cafu was one of few Brazil players who spoke to the press in the midst of a hailstorm of criticism from Brazilian fans and media alike following the team's return home.

Style of play

Regarded as one of the greatest full-backs of all time, one of the best footballers of his generation, and as one of Brazil's best ever players, Cafu was a dynamic, hard-working, offensive-minded, and energetic right-sided wing-back who is mostly remembered for his great pace, stamina, tactical intelligence, distribution, and technical skills, as well as his ability to make overlapping attacking runs down the right flank and provide accurate crosses to teammates in the area. In addition to his footballing ability, he was also known for his discipline, leadership and his characteristically cheerful demeanour. Although he usually played as an attacking right-back, he was also capable of playing as a centre back, due to his defensive skills, or in more advanced positions, and was often deployed as a right winger. During his time in Italy, he was given the nickname ''

Pendolino Pendolino (from Italian language, Italian "pendulum", and ''-ino,'' a diminutive suffix) is an Italian family of high-speed tilting trains (and non-tilting) used in Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland, the Czech Republic, ...

'', after the country's express trains.

Personal life

Cafu is separated from his wife Regina Feliciano, who he married in 1987. The couple had three children together: two sons (Danilo and Wellington) and a daughter (Michelle). On 4 September 2019, Danilo suffered a heart attack whilst playing football at his family home, after complaining about feeling unwell. Danilo was taken to hospital, where he later died.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Brazil's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Cafu goal.''

Honours

São Paulo *

Campeonato Brasileiro Série A The Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (; English: "Brazilian Championship A Series"), commonly referred to as the Brasileirão (; English: "Big Brazilian" or "Great Brazilian"), the Série A or the Brazilian Série A (to distinguish it from the I ...

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

Supercopa Libertadores The Supercopa Libertadores (English: ''Libertadores Supercup''), also known as the Supercopa Sudamericana, Supercopa Libertadores João Havelange, Supercopa João Havelange or simply Supercopa, was a football club competition contested annually b ...

Recopa Sudamericana The CONMEBOL Recopa Sudamericana (), also known as Recopa Sudamericana or CONMEBOL Recopa, and simply as Recopa (, ; "Winners' Cup"), is an annual international club Association football, football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1988. It ...

* Intercontinental Cup:

Real Zaragoza *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1994–95 Palmeiras *

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Roma *

: 2000–01 AC Milan *

: 2003–04 *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

: 2006–07 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup Association football, football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions: the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's offic ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

;Brazil *

, runner up:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

Individual * South American Team of the Year: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 * South American Footballer of the Year:

* FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 2002 (Reserve) *

* UEFA Team of the Year: 2004, 2005 * FIFPro World XI: 2005 * Sports Illustrated Team of the Decade: 2009 * ESPN World Team of the Decade: 2009 * AS Roma Hall of Fame: 2012 * World Soccer Greatest XI of all time: 2013 * AC Milan Hall of Fame * World XI: Team of the 21st Century * Ballon d'Or Dream Team: 2020 * IFFHS All-time Men's Dream Team: 2021 * IFFHS South America Men's Team of All Time: 2021

Orders

* Officer of the Order of Rio Branco: 2008

References

External links

*
Official Cafu Foundation site

Cafu profile by Aaron Marcus
– acmilan-online.com
Career stats
– acmilan.com * {{Authority control Living people 1970 births Footballers from São Paulo Men's association football fullbacks Brazilian men's footballers Brazilian expatriate men's footballers Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Brazil men's international footballers São Paulo FC players Real Zaragoza players Esporte Clube Juventude players SE Palmeiras players AS Roma players AC Milan players Campeonato Brasileiro Série A players La Liga players Serie A players Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Italy FIFA 100 FIFA Men's Century Club 1991 Copa América players 1993 Copa América players 1994 FIFA World Cup players 1997 Copa América players 1997 FIFA Confederations Cup players 1998 FIFA World Cup players 1999 Copa América players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players FIFA Confederations Cup–winning players Copa América–winning players Copa Libertadores–winning players São Paulo state football team players Brazilian emigrants to Italy Naturalised citizens of Italy South American Footballer of the Year winners UEFA Champions League–winning players Afro-Brazilian sportspeople Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Recipients of the Grand Cross of the Order of Ipiranga 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen