http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/a-lea...-coast-123215/
Cafu keen on the Gold Coast
16 July 2008 | 18:43 - SBS
The two-time World Cup winner and Brazil’s most capped player has shocked Gold Coast officials by indicating his willingness to become the club’s maiden marquee signing.
The former AS Roma and AC Milan wing-back closed the curtain on 10 shimmering years in Serie A two months ago at the venerable age of 38 with a goal in his final game against Udinese.
Though well into football dotage, Cafu – christened Marcos Evangelista de Moraes - made 15 appearances for the Italian giants last season.
And he is considered to have weathered the inexorable march of time better than any player of his generation, save former AC Milan team-mate Paolo Maldini.
After being approached by a prominent Brazilian identity trumpeting Cafu's desire to swell the ranks of the A-League based Brazilians, United's head coach Miron Bleiberg said: "Sometimes age is just a number. You can be old at 30 but Cafu is one of those who has defied time.
"To me his chronological age is not the all-important factor. He was playing at the top level until last May and it's a credit to the A-League and the Gold Coast as a new entity that a player of his calibre is keen to join us.
"It's just another example of the interest this club has been generating here and abroad.
"For him it would not be a matter of money - it would be more about the challenge of being something of a pioneer and also about the lifestyle we offer."
Cafu, known as the 'Express Train' for his rampaging burst down the right flank, won Italian titles with Roma and AC Milan, for whom he captured a UEFA Champions League winners' medal last year.
"Cafu has always had a taste for adventure," a source in Brazil said.
"His body has held up remarkably well. He's not as fast as before but he plays with his mind too and his reading of situations is superb. He's interested in Australia and helping the game develop there.
"It would not be about money for him. It would be about personal satisfaction. He played against Australia in the group stage of the 2006 World Cup and was very impressed with the spirit and endeavour of the Socceroos.
"Even though Brazil won 2-0, he admitted they were a little fortunate and he wanted Australia to progress further in the tournament than they did. He sees it as a country that’s going places in football."
There are already seven of his countrymen in the A-League but the arrival of a football apostle of Cafu's stature would produce a Pope-like buzz among Australian football’s pilgrims.
Bleiberg, who is no hurry to splash the cash, is keeping his options open, explaining: "Until we officially get our A-Licence (next month) we can't negotiate with players, though it's true to say Cafu is one of several big names that we are looking at."
While the club's emergence has alerted overseas agents keen to help billionaire owner Clive Palmer part with some of his fortune, there's also interest aplenty on home soil with Central Coast Mariners marksman Sasho Petrovski revealing that Project Palmer is the talk of change-rooms nationwide.
"Everybody is talking about the Gold Coast, the private jets the players will use and how they will bring a bit more glamour to the competition. I think the club will be able to pick and choose who they sign," Petrovski, out of contract with the reigning Premiers at the end of the forthcoming season, said.
"Being a part of all that is a very attractive option for many players, and it says a lot for a team that won't even come into the league until 2009."