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Nigeria's Ola Aina has revealed that he rates one special player ahead of the legendary Brazil defender Cafu.
Super Eagles and Nottingham Forest star Ola Aina has heaped extraordinary praises on one Premier League legend, calling him a better fullback than Brazilian World Cup winner Marcos Evangelista de Morais popularly known as Cafu.
Ola Aina during an interview with the DailyMail claimed that former Chelsea and England international Ashley Cole was better in his defensive position than the highly respected Cafu.
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The 28-year-old Nigerian himself has been in outstanding form this season for both club and country. His strong performances has seen him being linked with a move to Manchester City to replace the ageing Kyle Walker.
Aina, who once played for Chelsea and Torino before joining Nuno Espirito Santo’s team has excelled as a rightback but because of his versatility, Nigeria’s new coach Eric Chelle has deployed him on the left in the national team. Aina proved his worth by providing a brilliant cross for Osimhen to put Nigeria in front in the Super Eagles disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Zimbabwe in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers .
Ashley Cole is better than Cafu - Ola Aina
Ola Aina’s position that former Arsenal defender Ashley Cole was a better defender than Cafu during his active days should not come as a surprise to many.
During a ‘winner stay on’ interview, Ola Aina picked Kyle Walker over Liverpool’s Trent-Alexander Arnold and Andy Robertson. He also picked the Manchester City man over Manchester United’s Gary Neville. He however chose Dani Carvajal ahead of Walker, but rated Zanetti ahead of Carvajal and Thuram.
Aina then picked Cafu ahead of Thuram but picked former Chelsea defender Ashley Cole ahead of Cafu.
Ashley Cole vs Cafu - What does the numbers say?
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo re-echoed Ola Aina’s claims when he labelled Ashley Cole as his toughest opponent who never gave him any breathing space.
"Over the years I had some great battles with Ashley Cole, he does not give you a second to breathe," Ronaldo told Coach Mag.
"He was such a tenacious player when he was at his peak, quick, tough in the tackle. You knew it would never be an easy game."
In terms of achievements, Cafu edges it, having won the FIFA World Cup on two of the three editions he featured in (with 1998 the only time he missed out when Brazil lost the final 3-0 to a Zinedine Zidane’s inspired France team).
The Brazilian remains the only player to feature in three back-to-back finals of the FIFA World Cup (1994, 1998, 2002). He also won two Copa America with Brazil while Ashley Cole was a part of England's golden generation that didn't win anything.
However, Ashely Cole won three Premier League titles (two with Chelsea, one with Arsenal) while Cafu won two Serie A titles with AS Roma and AC Milan; the Englishman also had eight domestic cups (7FA Cups, 1Carling Cup) to his credit with Cafu having zero.
Both players also have one UEFA Champions League winners medal apiece. Cafu won the title with AC Milan during the 06/07 season while Ashley Cole was part of the Chelsea team that won the Blues first title in 11/12.
Now 44-year-old, Ashley coach was appointed as one of the national team coaches for the Three Lion — a role he combines with his position at Birmingham.
Meanwhile, 54-year-old Cafu is into charity work after his retirement in 2008. He runs his own foundation Fundacao Cafu.
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