Despite the attacking gems at Brazil’s disposal it is veteran defender Cafu who continues to impress coach Carlos Alberto Parreira ahead of the World Cup.

Brazil warmed up for the June 9-July 9 finals with another walk in the park on Tuesday night, following up their 13-1 demolition of the Fluminense junior side with an 8-0 thrashing of Swiss second division outfit Lucerne.

But despite having the flair and penetration of the likes of Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Adriano, Kaka, Robinho and Juninho Pernambucano to gush over, Parreira preferred instead to single out his veteran captain.

The 36-year-old will play in his fourth World Cup having been a part of the team that reached the last three finals, winning two of them.

Were Brazil to win the trophy in Berlin on July 9, Cafu will become the first ever captain to lift the trophy twice, as well as the first player to play in four successive finals.

“Cafu really is a phenomenon. He has speed, he is fit and the way he handles himself at his age, it really is impressive,” said Parreira.

Cafu’s inspirational presence is all the more surprising because he suffered an injury-hit campaign at club side AC Milan this year, only returning after knee surgery in February at the very end of the season.

But he showed he was back to his best, charging up and down Brazil’s right flank and creating the second goal for Adriano before being replaced by his understudy Cicinho of Real Madrid with 20 minutes left.

Brazil’s tactic of playing regional or club sides has come under scrutiny once again as their main rivals tackle fellow international sides.

Brazil have only one such full international match in their preparation and that against New Zealand, ranked 118 in the world, below even the likes of Haiti, Benin and Palestine.

But such a pre-tournament schedule has served the five-time World Cup winners well in the past as they have concentrated on honing their own fluidity and attacking prowess rather than testing themselves in a meaningful encounter.

Before their triumphant 1970 campaign in Mexico, Brazil played three city representative teams made up of players who played for clubs from those cities.

They beat Guadlajara 3-0, Leon 5-2 and Irapuato 3-0 before Pele, Tostao, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto and the rest wowed the world with their modern brand of speedy, aggresive football.

The tactic did not work so well in subsequent years, though, as in 1974, while defending their crown in Germany, Brazil struggled to a 3-2 win over a Ludwigshafen combination team and bowed out of the tournament earlier than expected.

Again in Italia 1990, Brazil were rocked by a morale-sapping 1-0 defeat to an Umbria select XI and a confidence-shorn team lost agonisingly to bitter local rivals Argentina in the second round.

But Parreira is convinced that this approach will bear fruit.

Playing weaker opponents has allowed Brazil to hone its attacking skills, pushing their fullbacks forward and letting the ‘magic foursome’ of Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho and Kaka to develop their understanding.

“The point of the match was to give the first team a chance to take to the field of play because these players have not played together since October last year,” said Parreira.

“I think we achieved our objective because the team worked well, closed down spaces and defended staunchly.”

Source:Soccer News