Hélder José Vaz Cabral (born 7 May 1984) is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for Comércio e Indústria.

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 Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

, going on to start his senior career in the lower leagues on loan. Returning to

Guimarães Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga. Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...

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 In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

– and the entire 2006–07 with the first team, leaving in June 2007 to fellow

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

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 Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

outskirts side narrowly avoid relegation after finishing 13th. In January 2009, after an unassuming spell in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

with

Vejle Boldklub Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...

, Cabral returned to his country and joined Académica de Coimbra. He was irregularly played during his spell, but started as the team won the 2012 edition of the

Portuguese Cup Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

– the first in 73 years – after defeating

Sporting Clube de Portugal Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

1–0 in the final. On 7 August 2013, Cabral signed a one-year deal with the option of a further season with

APOEL FC APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...

from

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

. 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. Maccabi Tel Aviv Football Club (; ''Moadon Kaduregel Maccabi Tel Aviv'') is an Israeli professional football club from Tel Aviv and part of the Maccabi Tel Aviv Sport Club. Founded in 1906 in Jaffa as the HaRishon Le Zion-Yafo Association, i ...

in the

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

of the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

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

International career

Despite being born in Portugal, Cabral qualified to play for

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

through his parents. In a January 2011 interview he added he would also like to represent the Portugal national team in the future, but preferred to "concentrate on (his) club duties for now".

Honours

;Académica *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2011–12 ;APOEL *

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

: 2013–14 *

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is ...

: 2013

References

External links

APOEL official profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabral, Helder 1984 births Living people People from Peniche, Portugal Portuguese sportspeople of Cape Verdean descent Portuguese men's footballers Men's association football defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Vitória S.C. players G.D.R.C. Os Sandinenses players Moreirense F.C. players C.F. Estrela da Amadora players Académica de Coimbra (football) players Vitória F.C. players S.C. Olhanense players Danish Superliga players Vejle Boldklub players Cypriot First Division players APOEL FC players AC Omonia players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Footballers from Leiria District 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen