Brazilian legend Cafu has revealed that he had the opportunity to witness John Flanagan in action after being invited to the Liverpool training by midfielder Lucas Leiva. Lucas Leiva may have lost his first-team spot in the Brazilian national team after the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari, but he still has a lot of friends with the current and former Brazilian players. One of them is Cafu, who is regarded as one of the finest right backs in the world. Along with left back Roberto Carlos, Cafu dominated the international football for a period of 10 years.

The raiding full-back allowed Brazil to play in the system that was close to being known as the 2-4-4. Such was the attacking intent of the team with the presence of Cafu. After having witnessed Flanagan play for the Liverpool team, Cafu himself has stated that he expects the youngster to become as good as him. Now retired, Cafu has been attending a lot of football matches and trainings and he may be looking into a managerial career one day. Lucas Leiva has been playing with Flanagan for a couple of years. At just 21 years of age, the Liverpool youth team product can improve even further according to Cafu.

“Lucas Leiva invited me to see Liverpool play and I was able to see Flanagan on the pitch. I was told that his style of play is reminiscent of my own, and he could be the next Cafu. He has a great future, he’s a good player, plays for the English team. He’s very strong, has a lot of will power, he has skills and this power plus his quickness may lead him to becoming a great full back – similar to the player I was,” said Cafu. Lucas, meanwhile, has been linked with a transfer in the summer.