 Cabral playing for Basel in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adilson Tavares Varela[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1988-10-22)22 October 1988 (age 37) | ||
| Place of birth | Praia,Cape Verde | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Lausanne | ||
| Number | 88 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1997–1998 | Moudon | ||
| 1998–2001 | Etoile Broye | ||
| 2001–2005 | Lausanne | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2005–2007 | Lausanne | 26 | (0) |
| 2007–2013 | Basel | 99 | (2) |
| 2008–2009 | →Sevilla Atlético (loan) | 23 | (1) |
| 2013–2015 | Sunderland | 1 | (0) |
| 2014 | →Genoa (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2015–2016 | Zürich | 15 | (0) |
| 2017 | Le Mont | 12 | (0) |
| 2018–2020 | Lausanne-Sport | 15 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2005–2006 | Switzerland U18 | 5 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Switzerland U19 | 14 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Switzerland U20 | 2 | (0) |
| 2007–2009 | Switzerland U21 | 9 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 December 2016 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 31 December 2010, 24:00 (UTC) | |||
Adilson Tavares Varela (born 22 October 1988), commonly known asCabral, is a former professionalfootballer.
He spent most of his career atBasel, winning ten honours including fiveSwiss Super League championships and threeSwiss Cup titles. He also had brief spells in three foreign countries.
After representing his adopted Switzerland 30 times betweenunder-18 andunder-21 level, Cabral was called up in 2012 for his nativeCape Verde but did not play.
Cabral started his children's football with local amateur club Moudon. He moved to Étoile-Broye in 1998 and stayed with them three seasons. In 2000, he was spotted byLausanne and in summer 2001 he joined their youth department.
Cabral then advanced through the ranks by Lausanne-Sport playing the 2004–05 with their U-21 team. In the 2005–06 season he advanced to their first team, who at that time played in theChallenge League, the second tier of Swiss football. He made his debut for the club in August 2005 under head coachGérard Castella, coming on as a substitute in the match againstBaden. He had only three appearances that season, but was regularly on the pitch the following season. He went on to play 26 league games for Lausanne-Sport.
In summer 2007, Cabral left Lausanne forBasel on a free transfer, signing a three-year deal. He joined Basel's first team for their2007–08 season under head coachChristian Gross, who was starting his ninth season in that position. After playing in six test games Cabral played hisdomestic league debut for the club in the away game in theStadion Wankdorf on 5 August 2007 as Basel suffered a 1–5 againstZürich.[3] At the end of the 2007–08 season he won theDouble with the club. They won theLeague Championship title with four points advantage over second placedYoung Boys.[4] In theSwiss Cup via Léchelles,Binningen,Grasshopper Club,Stade Nyonnais and in the semi-finalThun, Basel advanced to the final, and winning this 4–1 againstAC Bellinzona they won the competition.[5]
However, during his first season with the team he played in only eight league matches and had two appearances in the2007–08 Swiss Cup. Therefore, for the 2008–09 season, he was loaned out toSevilla's B Team,Sevilla Atlético, who played in theSegunda Federación, the fourth tier of Spanish football. Here he made 22 league appearances, scoring one goal.[6]
When he returned to BaselManagerChristian Gross had been sacked andThorsten Fink was in charge. Cabral had become a much improved player following his season in Spain and thus during the2009–10 season he broke into the first team squad. Basel joined the2009–10 UEFA Europa League in the second qualifying round. Basel advanced to the group stage, in which despite winning three of the six games the ended in third position and were eliminated. They finished four points behind group winnersRoma and one behindFulham, against whom they lost 3–2 in the last game of the stage. Cabral played in eight of the ten matches.[7]
He scored his first league goal for his club in the home game in theSt. Jakob-Park on 6 December 2009. Basel were 1–2 down at half time, Cabral scored the equaliser in the 54th minute and the team went on to achieve a 3–2 win overBellinzona.[8] At the end of the 2009–10 season, he won theDouble with his club. They won theLeague Championship title with 3 points advantage over second placedYoung Boys.[9] In theSwiss Cup viaCham,Le Mont,Zürich,Biel-Bienne and in the semi-finalKriens, Basel advanced to the final, and winning 6–0 againstLausanne, they won the competition. Cabral played in three of the six cup games, but not in the final.[10]
Basel started in the2010–11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round and advanced to thegroup stage. Cabral's finest goal came in the group stage away game againstRoma on 19 October 2010. Cabral was substituted on forMarco Streller during the 81st minute. In the third minute of overtime, Cabral dribbled around the defence and then lobbed the ball over keeperBogdan Lobonţ to the final score of 3–1.[11] However, Basel only gained six points during the stage and thus ended the group in third position. Therefore, they dropped to the2010–11 Europa League knockout phase, but here they were eliminated bySpartak Moscow due to a last-minute goal against them. Cabral played in eight of the 12 European matches.[12] Cabral won his third Championship medal with the club at the end of the2010–11 season, topping the table just one point clear of rivalsZürich.[13]
To the beginning of their2011–12 season Cabral was member of the Basel team that won the2011 Uhrencup, beating bothHertha Berlin 3–0 andWest Ham United 2–1 to lead the table on goal difference aboveYoung Boys.[14] In the home game in theSt. Jakob-Park on 6 August 2011 Cabral scored one of his rare goals. He came on as substitute in the 75th minute as Basel were trailing 2–3 againstSion. Then in the third minute of overtime, his low drive from 25 meters out, found its way underAndris Vaņins diving body and salvaged the team a point with the three all draw.[15] At the end of the 2011–12 season Cabral won his thirdDouble with the club. They won theLeague Championship title with 20 points advantage.[16] In theSwiss Cup Basel advanced to the final, beating Eschenbach,Schötz,Wil,Lausanne and in the semi-finalWinterthur. In the final, they played againstLuzern and the game ended 1–1 after extra time. Basel won the cup by beating their opponents 4–3 in the penalty shootout.[17]
After his teammateBenjamin Huggel retired from professional football in May 2012, Cabral took his place in central midfield and advanced to become one of the team leaders. Basel had started in the2012–13 UEFA Champions League in the qualifying rounds. But were knocked out of the competition byCFR Cluj in the play-off round. They then continued in the2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage. Ending the group in second position, Basel continued in the knockout phase and advanced as far as thesemi-finals, there being matched against the reigningUEFA Champions League holdersChelsea. Chelsea won both games advancing 5–2 on aggregate, eventually winning the competition outright. Cabral played in 15 of the team's 20 European matches.[18]
At the end of theSwiss Super League season 2012–13 he won his fifth Championship title with the team, ending the season three points above their nearest rivals.[19] In the2012–13 Swiss Cup Basel advanced to the final via five away games, winning against amateurs Amriswil, lower tierChiasso andLocarno,Thun in the quarter-final andSion in the semi-final. The final was held in theStadion Wankdorf, but Basel became runners up behindGrasshoppers, being defeated 4–3 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time.[20]
At this point, he decided to move on. During his time with the club, Cabral played a total of 252 games for Basel scoring a total of six goals. 99 of these games were in theSwiss Super League, 14 in theSwiss Cup, 40 in the UEFA competitions (Champions League, UEFA Cup and Europa League) and 99 were friendly games. He scored two goals in the domestic league, one in the Champions League and the other three were scored during the test games.[21]
On 10 June 2013,Sunderland announced the signing of Cabral on a free transfer.[22] He scored his first goal for the club againstTottenham Hotspur in the semi-final of the2013 Premier League Asia Trophy. Sunderland would eventually win that game 3–1. He made his competitive debut for the club on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 home defeat againstFulham on 17 August 2013.[23] However, he failed to make another league appearance all season, even afterPaolo Di Canio was sacked as manager and replaced withGus Poyet.
On 9 January 2014, having played no further part for the Black Cats, he was loaned toGenoa until the end of the season.[24]
After the loan period, Cabral returned to Sunderland but could not get a place in the team. He had three appearances for their U-21 team. On 2 February 2015, Sunderland confirmed that Cabral had left the club by mutual consent.[25]
On 30 May 2015 he signed a four-year deal withZürich.[26] Cabral made a decent debut in the Zurich jersey, on 21 June 2015, and distributed the balls well in midfield. In the end, his new team beat Aarau 3-0 in the friendly match.[27] On 1 December 2016, the contract was terminated by mutual consent.[28] Cabral made 15 league appearances for FC Zürich.
In February 2017 Cabral joinedLe Mont-sur-Lausanne, who at that time played in theChallenge League, the second tier of Swiss football.[29] He immediately came to regular appearances. However, few days later theSwiss Football Association did not award the club a license for the following season. Because the club did not file an appeal, the club was forcibly relegated at the end of the season. Cabral left them as a free agent.
On 5 March 2018 it was announced that Cabral had re-joinedLausanne.[30] On 1 July 2020 he retired from his active career.
Cabral representedSwitzerland at Under-18,Under-19, Under-20 andUnder-21 levels.
In November 2012, Cabral switched his sporting nationality to his birth country of Cape Verde, being called up for the friendly match between theCape Verde national senior team againstGhana.[31] In that match, which Cape Verde lost 0–1, he was on the bench but did not play.[32]
Cabral is a cousin of fellow footballersManuel Fernandes,Gelson Fernandes andEdimilson Fernandes.[33]
In 2016, Cabral was found not guilty atKingston upon Hull Crown Court after a woman had accused him of rape from his time at Sunderland. The woman had consensual sex with several footballers and the judge called her claim a "weak case". Cabral stated: "I was really angry for my family, for my friends, for this because everybody think 'You rape girls', 'You are a rapist'. Now the real story goes out. I am not guilty."[34]
Basel
Zürich
