Cafu vs Edwin van der Sar: Stats Compared
Right-Back, Brazil (born 1970, retired 2008) · Goalkeeper, Netherlands (born 1970, retired 2011)
The Cafu–Edwin van der Sar comparison is one of those fixtures of footballing folklore. Reputations harden into legacies, and few careers cast longer shadows than these two. Cafu finishes with 53 career goals from 856 games — a 0.06 strike rate — against Edwin van der Sar's 0 from 820 at 0.00 per match. Reliable assist tallies simply do not exist for large stretches of their careers, leaving creativity to the eye rather than the spreadsheet. Cafu departs the game with 9 major pieces of silverware, including 2× FIFA World Cup (1994, 2002); Edwin van der Sar with 9, including 1× UEFA Champions League (2008). Their legacies diverge in texture: Cafu is remembered as uncompromising, Edwin van der Sar as authoritative. Context beyond the headline totals is important: Cafu's landmark level arrived around 2002 with a career spanning São Paulo, Roma, Milan; Edwin van der Sar's came around 2008 across Ajax, Juventus, Fulham, Manchester United. Picking between them says as much about the picker as the players.
167 words · comparison angle: legacy
Player profiles
Marcos Evangelista de Morais (born 7 June 1970), known as Cafu, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Widely regarded as one of the greatest full-backs of all time, he was known for his pace and energetic attacking runs along the right flank. He is the most-capped player for the Brazil national team with 142 appearances.
“A relentless full-back whose running power and crossing made the flank a second engine.”
Edwin van der Sar is a Dutch football executive and former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he was most recently the chief executive of Eredivisie club Ajax. Van der Sar began his senior playing career with Ajax in the early 1990s; he is considered to be a member of the club's golden generation and was part of the team that won the UEFA Champions League in 1995.
“A tall, composed goalkeeper who made difficult saves look quiet and simple.”
Head-to-head stats
Career goals by season
Representative career seasons — goals per season for each player across their documented clubs.
Attribute radar
Attribute ratings are peak-era, 0–100. Different positions naturally skew the profile.
Attribute comparison
Trophy breakdown
- 2× FIFA World Cup (1994, 2002)
- 1× UEFA Champions League (2008)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1994 Established himself at São Paulo
- 1998 Reached his defining peak
- 2002 Delivered a landmark season
- 2008 Retired from professional football
- 2000 Established himself at Ajax
- 2004 Reached his defining peak
- 2008 Delivered a landmark season
- 2011 Retired from professional football
The verdict
Taking goals, assists, silverware and overall profile together, Cafu takes it by a decisive margin.
Cafu edges it (a decisive margin)
