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.
At the 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.
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.
Cafu signed a contract extension in May 2007 that would keep him with Milan until the end of the 2007–08 season.
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.
Cafu earned his first cap in a friendly against Spain on 12 September 1990, and played sparingly for Brazil in the early 1990s, making the 1994 World Cup roster as a substitute.
Cafu was one of only a few Brazil players who spoke to the press in the midst of a hailstorm of criticism from Brazilian fans and media alike following the team's return home.
Cafu couldn't wipe the smile off his face after being asked to coach not one but two Miss Universe 2011 football teams during an exhibition match.
Cafu commented on the issues surrounding the ability of Brazil to organize the World Cup and the delays to some stadiums.
