Born on this day is a man who represents an utterly bizarre period in the club’s history, Cabral.
The midfielder was a huge unknown when he signed for Sunderland on a free transfer, arriving from Swiss club Basel in 2013. His signing was announced in early June, but had to wait until his Basel contract officially expired in July before he was formally presented to the media and fans.
Paolo Di Canio and Roberto Di Fanti went about changing the culture at the club. From overspending on transfer fees and wages, the Italian duo decided to look at the European market to unearth some cheaper hidden gems. Cabral was one of Di Canio’s first signings, and would be one of 13 arrivals that summer. An insane number of players to try and gel together during pre-season.
Fans had high hopes of the dynamic midfielder, who had played at the highest level of European football while in Switzerland. Even Cabral himself said: ‘This is a new challenge for me and I am looking forward to it. Playing in Basel, we won everything in Switzerland, and I played in the Champions League and Europa League. Now I have a new challenge in England, and for me, it is the best league.’
The buzz around Cabral continued to build, and when he bossed the midfield against Tottenham in our pre-season ‘Barclays Premier League Trophy’ in Asia, we all thought he’d be able to adapt perfectly to English football.
Unfortunately for the midfielder, that was as good as it got. He did start in our first game of the season against Fulham, but a fairly average debut seemed to annoy Di Canio, and Cabral was never seen again in a Sunderland shirt!
Even when the Italian manager was replaced by Gus Poyet, the new gaffer seemingly had no interest in Cabral’s talents. There were rumours of ill discipline and off-the-pitch issues, although Di Canio has later suggested that he simply didn’t have what it took to keep up with the pace of the Premier League.
Following his departure, Cabral played in Italy before he returned to Switzerland, where he has played for Lausanne since 2018. His strange spell on Wearside marks a tumultuous time for SAFC, and an era that is best left in the past.
