Marcos Evangelista de Moraes (born 7 June, 1970), better known as Cafu, is a two-time FIFA World Cup winning Brazilian footballer. He was given this nickname due to his speed up and down the right flank which was reminiscent of Cafuringa, a legendary Brazilian forward from the 1970s.

Cafu was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He is best known for his tireless overlapping runs.

One of six children, Cafu was raised in the Jardim Irene favela of São Paulo. He was an average student as he soon discovered his love for football and preferred playing over studying. At the tender 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 for two years.

In the early 1980s, he couldn't get his foot in the door as he was rejected from the youth squads of Corinthians, Palmeiras, Santos, Atlético Mineiro, and Portuguesa. It wasn't until 1988 that he made the youth squad of hometown club São Paulo, and subsequently won the Copa São Paulo youth tournament that year, but he warmed the bench the next season as São Paulo won the 1989 Campeonato Paulista.

[edit] 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 the 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 in 1992 and 1993. In 1994, he was named the South American Footballer of the Year. Cafu began the 1995 season with Brazil squad Juventude but finished in Spain with Real Zaragoza, winning the '95 Cup Winners' Cup with the latter.

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 in 2001. 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 final in 2003 with Roma, he moved to Milan after turning down a move to Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos. With the Rossoneri, he won his second career Scudetto in 2004, and played in his first UEFA Champions League final in 2005.

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 in the first knockout round of the 2006-07 Champions League - he candidly revealed in a UEFA.com chat that he did not want Milan to be drawn against the Giallorossi in the quarterfinal 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.

Cafu signed a contract extension in May 2007 that would keep him with Milan until the end of the 2007–08 season. 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 maybe his footballing career, he scored a goal in their 4–1 victory over Udinese. Milan's vice-president Adriano Galliani has opened the doors to him to return to work for the club.

On 14 December 2008, it was reported by several major news agencies that Cafu was ,allegedly, to sign for Northern Premier League Division One North team Garforth Town in 2009. Garforth owner Simon Clifford told to Sky Sports that Cafu is "likely to be coming in April and just playing a few games for us".^[2][3][4] The transfer didn't materialize however.

[edit] Passport controversy

On 12 June 2006, less than 24 hours before Brazil were to begin their 2006 World Cup campaign against Croatia, Rome prosecutor Angelantonio Racanelli called for the imprisonment of Cafu, his wife Regina de Morales, and his agent for nine months following the resurfacing of a false-passport scandal.^[5] This affair dated back to Cafu's Roma days in 2000, during which his current Milan teammate Dida, along with several other Serie A players, were caught with forged documents in their attempt to dodge regulations regarding the number of non-European players allowed on Italian club rosters. Racanelli claimed that falsified documents immunized Cafu from this rule because of Regina's Italian citizenship, which was due to her grandfather's emigration from Brazil to Italy.^[6] The very next day, however, Cafu, his wife, and agent were acquitted of all charges.^[7]