Five-time champion and one of the greatest full-backs in football history, Cafu did not hesitate to point out the best in the position in current football.

“Today the best right-back is Hakimi (Moroccan from PSG). I prefer not to speak individually about Brazilian full-backs, especially the right-backs. They are great full-backs, they have potential. Everyone there has the conditions and capability,” said the captain of the five-time champions.Cafu spoke exclusively to OneFootball, through Superbet, which produced content about scouting in football and how data and technology are currently impacting the search for talents and how companies use statistics to boost business. 

In the former player’s opinion, although the ways of finding the best players have evolved over the years, data doesn’t always tell everything about athletes.

“It’s evident that today the tools and professionals working with data can identify things that weren’t possible in my time so early. But I can’t say that my attributes could have been perceived earlier,” he declared.

“When you take a very young boy, you don’t know if he will really continue his career or not. But when you see a boy well-positioned on the field, you see him hitting the ball, you see him with his head up, these are already some characteristics that catch your attention on the field,” Cafu added.

In the former full-back’s opinion, more important than mapping the numbers and data of young athletes is understanding how much the boys will dedicate themselves. “I think the first tool, the first look, is to know if the boy loves, is passionate, and really wants to play football or if he is there because someone asked him to be there. The desire these players have to play football. That changes a lot,” he declared.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

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