09/10 Summer Transfer Market (2)

With Cafu gone, I was plunged into thought.

‘……There was no suitable replacement for Cafu.’

Because of the look in Cafu’s eyes after he decided to retire, I had answered that I understood, but the truth was that I was still filled with regret over his retirement.

This wasn’t about personal ties or sentiment; I simply had a strong feeling that I wouldn’t be able to find a player objectively better than Cafu.

Last season, Cafu handled an incredible number of roles at Union Berlin.

Not only did he deal with problems on the pitch, but off it as well, Cafu did an excellent job holding the defensive line together.

Thanks to him, Dante and Thiago Silva had no major trouble adapting to the club.

Cafu himself must have been busy adapting to his new club, but even so, he never hesitated to help captain Yannick Voigt look after the younger Brazilian internationals and the new recruits younger than himself.

‘It wasn’t for nothing that we made him third captain despite him being a newcomer….’

Cafu also actively passed on the experience he had accumulated over the years. Thanks to him, Union Berlin’s players were able to learn a great deal...