Cafu confident in National Training Centre

Cafu, the captain of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning squad, spent half day in Trinidad on Monday, where he appeared at an exhibition game at the Soogrim Trace Recreation Ground, Laventille as part of the Laventille Nights programme put on by I95.5FM.

Cafu’s appearance was arranged by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TT FA) in a collaborated efforts with the FIFA Legends initiative.

Also here on Monday were Jamaicans Gregory Messam and Ricardo “Bibi” Gardner as they teamed up with former TT 2006 World Cup players Dennis Lawrence and Stern John, current TT midfielder Hashim Arcia, Earl Jean, Ross Russell and Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP ) George Busby. Lawrence and John netted but the boys of Laventille were triumphant on the night, coming away 6-2 winners in the 90-minute affair.

Speaking afterwards, Cafu touched on the matter of the current plans by the TT FA to begin construction of the Home of Football Training and Technical Centre at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.

“It’s a great thing to have a National Training Centre. Every country needs something like this if you can get it. When I look around here (Laventille) it reminds me so much about where I came from in Brazil, the people, the ground, the poverty and the difficult life but it inspired me and it can inspire these people,” Cafu said.

“And with the Training Centre you can take players from here and give them better facilities, which allows them to develop, to get to the next level and to help produce better teams, better clubs and this now helps you to build stronger national teams,” added the 47-year-old. “You will see the benefit of this in the future.”