26 Jan 2003(Sun)

It is not only the Yokohama F Marinos fans who should be delighted by the signing of Cafu.

The whole of the J.League, too, should be excited that Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning captain will be playing in Japan once his contract with AS Roma ends at the end of June.

Cafu is now 32, but will be 33 when he starts playing for F Marinos.

This is not old enough to be termed "over the hill," especially as he is fit and still a first-choice player for his club.

The 2002 World Cup was Cafu's third finals tournament in the famous canary yellow jersey, and to show just how important he was to the team, he played every second of Brazil's seven games. That's a total of 630 minutes, 10 and a half hours, without being substituted!

Only three other Brazilians managed this feat, goalkeeper Marcos, central defender Lucio and midfielder Gilberto Silva, who has adapted so well to English football after his move from Atletico Mineiro to Arsenal.

Cafu, presumably, could have stayed in Italy and joined a lower-ranked team than Roma.

Or surely he could have moved to another European country, as his attacking qualities down the right flank, his leadership and his experience would have been invaluable for teams seeking a respected and authoritative captain.

But no, he chose Yokohama, who could afford to pay him Serie A level wages due to the generous backing of Nissan.

Yokohama, who will be managed by Takeshi Okada next season, needed someone with star quality to replace Shunsuke Nakamura, whose move to Reggina has been made permanent.

There is no doubt Cafu will bring in the crowds, and the team should gain many new fans next season as people come to watch the stylish Brazilian.

Cafu, whose full name is Evangelista de Moraes Marcos, began his career with Sao Paulo in 1989. He had one season in Spain, with Real Zaragosa, in 1994-95, before returning to Brazil to join Palmeiras.

In 1997 he moved to Italy to play for Roma, and will have spent six seasons there by the time his contract finishes on June 30.

It will be interesting to hear Cafu's thoughts on his former Roma teammate Hidetoshi Nakata, especially as Roma look like they need Nakata's attacking flair this season.

I wonder if Cafu thinks it was a mistake for Roma to sell Nakata to Parma, although it was hard for Roma to turn down an offer of $26 million for a player who mostly sat on the bench!

Cafu coming to Yokohama is a sign of approval for the J.League in general from the man who has played in three World Cup finals, and won two of them, in 1994, on penalties, and last year.

ends