Legendary Brazilian captain Cafu on Saturday said India must not think about its small status on the football map and should instead believe it has the power to grow, adding that Brazil is open to developing cooperation in this field. Cafu said Brazil and India can make it happen through a stronger connection between the two countries, citing how Japan and China have taken the help of the five-time World Cup winners in the past. India and Brazil are set to play their first-ever friendly match in Kolkata on October 3, and Cafu said there may be a gap between the two national football teams, but there are positives to look forward to.
“India really needs someone with that reasoning,” Cafu said while responding to Bhaichung Bhutia’s remarks on the India-Brazil friendly during a discussion at the Global Impact Forum on Saturday. Expressing his reservations about the friendly fixture at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium, Bhutia said India should first bring in investment in the form of coaches and play against the top football nations when they reach that standard.
“I feel those kinds of matches should be on a merit basis. What is going to happen in that match is that Brazil is going to dominate, obviously, because they are a top-class football team. The Indian team is just going to play defence, defence; you’re just going to park the bus and want to play one match,” Bhutia said.
“India should also try to bring in a lot of great coaches, especially at the grassroots level, where Japanese football has taken a similar shape to Brazilian football. I think that is the right model to follow,” he added.
Cafu replied, “…that was exactly the discussion we were having yesterday, about what India can do to enhance its football performance.”
“…and in which ways they can bring up these children to become great champions. To make India competitive in football. Yeah, maybe you cannot compare yourselves with the Brazilian team because we already have five titles, but I say never, we should never say no.”
“When we talk about this tool that we are using to include children in society, we are bringing it from a global perspective. Through the connection between Brazil and India, we can make this happen,” Cafu said.
Cafu said India should not think of itself as “too small in football” and needs to believe it has the power to grow substantially.
“Why do you think of yourselves as too small in football? This is wrong. You are a giant. You need to believe you have the power,” Cafu said.
“But then you need to give the child an opportunity. Just like China did, Japan did, it is possible. Just like you said, by bringing coaches, exchanging information between countries and passing it on to Indian children, it is possible,” Cafu said, referring to the points made by Bhutia during the panel discussion.
The two-time World Cup winner Cafu added, “Let us call this an opportunity. You give an opportunity to a child, and the child will become a citizen and an athlete. Brazil is open to developing cooperation in this field so that India can become even greater than it already is. Let’s invest in sport and education.”
Cafu, meanwhile, said a lot of people told him he could not become a football player, but he was proud to have achieved what he wanted.
“The challenges are constant in the life of a professional footballer, and there is no triumph and no title without sacrifice. We came from simple families, from humble neighbourhoods, with huge dreams that came true,” he said.
“Most important is what you want to be. That is the difference that creates a distance between me and my colleagues, people who lived in Jardim Irene and grew up in other places.”
“What makes a difference is what I wanted to be. And I wanted to be a football player. Long before I became captain of the Brazilian team, I was turned down. People told me that I would never be a football player. But I could not let other people decide what I could be or what I could become. And then I became the captain of the Brazilian team,” he added.
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