Hélder Cabral

Hélder Cabral
Personal information
Full nameHélder José Vaz Cabral
Date of birth7 May 1984
Place of birthPeniche, Portugal
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing positionLeft back
Club information
Current team
Vitória Setúbal
Number55
Youth career
1994–2000Peniche
2000–2001Sporting CP
2001–2003Vitória Guimarães
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2003–2007Vitória Guimarães21(0)
2003–2004→ Dragões Sandinenses (loan)35(7)
2004–2005Valdevez (loan)21(0)
2006Moreirense (loan)13(2)
2007–2008Estrela Amadora19(1)
2008Vejle4(0)
2009–2013Académica72(1)
2013–2014APOEL7(0)
2014–Vitória Setúbal13(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 April 2015.
† Appearances (Goals).

Hélder José Vaz Cabral (born 7 May 1984) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Vitória F.C. as a left back.

Club career

Born in Peniche, Cabral played youth football for three clubs, spending six years in local Grupo Desportivo de Peniche's system and entering it at the age of ten. He played his last two years as a junior with Vitória SC, going on to start his senior career in the lower leagues on loan.

Returning to Guimarães in the 2005 summer, Cabral played the first part of the 2005–06 season – being subsequently loaned to Moreirense F.C. in the second division – and the entire 2006–07 with the first team, leaving in June 2007 to fellow top level club C.F. Estrela da Amadora: he scored his only goal of the campaign on 6 January 2008 in a 4–1 home win against his former employer, helping the Lisbon outskirts side narrowly avoid relegation after finishing 13th.

In January 2009, after an unassuming spell in Denmark with Vejle Boldklub, Cabral returned to his country and joined Académica de Coimbra,[1] being irregularly played during his spell but being a starter as the team won the 2012 edition of the Portuguese Cup – the first in 73 years – after defeating Sporting Clube de Portugal 1–0 in the final.[2]

On 7 August 2013, Cabral signed a one-year contract with the option of a further season with APOEL FC from Cyprus.[3] He made his debut for his new team on 19 September, coming on as an 86th-minute substitute in a 0–0 away draw against Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[4]

On 29 January 2014 APOEL terminated Cabral's contract, by mutual consent.[5]

International career

Despite being born in Portugal, Cabral qualified to play for Cape Verde through his parents. In a January 2011 interview he added he would also like to represent the Portuguese national team in the future, but preferred to "concentrate on (his) club duties for now".[6]

Honours

Académica
APOEL

References

  1. Hélder Cabral renova contrato com a Académica (Hélder Cabral renews contract with Académica); Académica's official website, 10 February 2011 (Portuguese)
  2. "Académica shock Sporting to lift Portuguese Cup". PortuGOAL. 19 May 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  3. "Hélder José Vaz Cabral" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 7 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  4. "Maccabi Tel-Aviv pay penalty as APOEL share spoils". UEFA.com. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  5. Ανακοίνωση [Announcement] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  6. "Académica: Hélder Cabral sonha com o Jamor" [Académica: Hélder Cabral dreams of the Jamor] (in Portuguese). Mais Futebol. 25 January 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

External links