'I have no doubt England can win the World Cup' says Kaká
Brazil's playmaker on Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo and why England can triumph in South Africa
Fernando Duarte in Doha The Guardian, Thursday 12 November 2009
Despite his squeaky-clean image, Kaká is not the kind of player to keep quiet if he is unhappy. He does not pretend to be enthusiastic about flying to Doha for a friendly match whose location was dictated by an obese purse offered to the Brazilian FA and is part of a trip that includes a second fixture against Oman, a poor side from a rich country. There is, however, the small matter of an opportunity to cross swords with England and the chance to evaluate what this keen observer of the English game has previously noticed from distance: the transformation brought about by Fabio Capello.
"These friendlies taking place far from where we are routinely based take their toll on the players because they add extra hours for flights and everything," Kaká says. "But then it's England, with about eight months to go to the World Cup and just after they have cruised through the European qualifiers in a group that was not easy at all. I don't think anybody expected them to go through so strongly, especially with the two emphatic defeats of Croatia. It's not to say England weren't a dangerous team before, but there is something different now. They look much sharper collectively, like Mr Capello's sides are known to be."
Kaká believes the discipline and spirit instilled by Capello in England's players has given the side the push that may finally end their barren run in World Cups on foreign soil next year. While describing players such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Wayne Rooney as "capable of deciding matches" with moments of brilliance, it is the collective attitude of the team that has caught the Real Madrid playmaker's eye.
"England have always had individually strong players and I am a huge fan of Stevie Gerrard, who has the heart of a lion and is the icon of the modern footballer with his ability to attack and defend so well," the 27-year-old says. "But what seems to have changed is the arrival of a better collective awareness. The players look much more aware with regards to movements and positioning. The attitude is also stronger. They are definitely one of the teams to consider for the trophy in South Africa."
The high-profile fixture in Qatar on Saturday provides England with the opportunity to test themselves against a team they have beaten on only three occasions, and never in a competitive match. A victory, Kaká suggests, would provide a psychological lift for Capello's men ahead of next summer.
"Listen, the World Cup is a competition in which everything needs to work to your advantage. Players need to be fit, decisions have to go in your favour and details such as a red card can cost a team dearly.
"I have no doubts that England can do it. As much as the Doha game will award no points, it can work as a massive confidence boost when you beat an opponent also tipped to prevail next year."
No surprise, then, that an 11th triumph against England would suit Brazil in terms of building confidence. The five-times World Cup winners may have qualified with games to spare but the campaign began poorly with, remarkably, the home crowd in Belo Horizonte unimpressed by their own team's efforts, applauding Argentina's Lionel Messi when their great rivals visited. After Argentina eliminated Brazil from the 2008 Olympics, the coach, Dunga, was so unpopular that the newspaper O Globo published a mock obituary on its front page. Since then, however, Brazil have gained new momentum, going undefeated in their last 12 World Cup qualifiers and winning the Confederations Cup in South Africa in the summer.
"We have a new cycle and it took us time to gel," Kaká explains. "The guys want to leave a much better impression than in Germany in 2006 [when Brazil lost in the quarter-finals to France]. There are a lot of new guys in the side and the motivation is much different from four years ago."
Is the motivation different because, unlike at the last World Cup, this squad features only five of the 23 players who took part in the victorious 2002 campaign, of which Kaká is one? "People have to understand generations come and go. A whole era ended in 2006 but I don't really think the lads were unaware of what was at stake in Germany. But I agree that a lot of players in the current squad have more reason to be hungry for World Cup success."
Kaká, Fifa's 2007 World Player of the Year, believes the World Cup will determine who receives the award at the end of 2010. His bet for 2009 is a conservative one. "Messi should win it given everything he won with Barça last season. In a year without the World Cup, the national leagues and the Champions League have much more weight. That was the same with Cristiano [Ronaldo] in 2008."
The name of his Real Madrid team-mate is raised again when discussing the club's first season in the second era of the galácticos at the Bernabéu. For Kaká the negative aspect of Florentino Pérez's expenditure, nearly £140m on these two players alone, is its effect on expectations.
"The media and public created the idealisation that you would immediately reap the benefits of all the signings, mine and Cristiano's included, while the people who live football know that it takes time to get things going. Expectations will always be high and obviously it is not normal for Real to be hammered by a lower league team [they were knocked out of the Copa del Rey by third division Alcorcón this week, after losing the first leg 4-0].
"But to expect us to win all games 4-0 or start talking about a crisis and sacking the manager [Manuel Pellegrini] when we are only one point behind Barcelona in La Liga and joint top with Milan in our Champions League group is a bit ludicrous."
Kaká believes Real will improve in the coming months. After suffering defeats in each of the three competitions they are involved in, the players sat down to talk through what was going wrong. "We are full of experienced guys who know how football works. We know what we are doing and how the gelling of the group will make things easier. Obviously if we end the year without a trophy people will be right in talking about failure and a bad year, but I have the feeling people will be talking differently about us soon."
Ronaldo is expected to play a huge part on the field, but off it he has helped Kaká adapt to a change of city and culture after six seasons in Milan. "We hit it off from the start. Cristiano and I speak the same language so it was quite natural that I looked for him and other Portuguese speakers to settle in. People see him as this big kid, but the lad is quite mature for his age. As different as our lifestyles are, we often have dinner and talk about things."
He is equally enthusiastic about Xabi Alonso's arrival. "As soon as the rumours started about Real signing him from Liverpool, I hoped Xabi was going to come. I have admired him for a few years and he impressed me by the way he operates in setting the pace of the game and in his distribution. He is extremely important for the team and I am quite happy Liverpool let him come to us."
