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. 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.
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 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. “…and in which ways they can bring up these children to become great champions. To make India competitive in football. “When we talk about this tool that we are using to include children in society, we are bringing it from a global perspective. “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. 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.
Because they are a top-class football team, what is going to happen in that match is that Brazil is going to dominate, obviously,. Because we already have five titles, but I say never, we should never say no, yeah, maybe you cannot compare yourselves with the Brazilian 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. Through the connection between Brazil and India, we can make this happen,” Cafu said. 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. People told me that I would never be a football player.
