Arthur Cabral will wear the No.9 at Fiorentina
Meet the goal machine that's already scored 27 times this season
Think Ciro Immobile meets Hulk. Then conceptualise technical ability blended with a big splash of high-speed grunt and tenacity to boot.
Unshaken and unstirred, meet Fiorentina’s new No.9, Arthur Cabral.
Eight braces, one hat trick, one haul (4) for a total of 65 goals in 106 games for FC Basel - this is *Cabral in a Brazilian nutshell - ramming home thirteen of them in this season’s UEFA Conference League. Pleased to meet you.
“The Swiss Super League”, you scoff? Well, Cabral’s recent form warranted a debut national team call-up for Brazil. But before we collectively gasp at his meteoric rise, let’s take a look at some outstanding Arthur Cabral goals and skills.
If this hasn’t inspired you to sprint down to the nearest park with your football boots then check your pulse. I’ll forgive you if you stop reading this to go for a kick.
As showcased above, the former Palmeiras centre-forward muscles his way to the front and boasts a big vertical leap with a powerful header. Devastating with both feet, he’s also acrobatic, and better yet isn’t injury prone.
Much like a Swiss army knife, he possesses enough tools to cleverly outwit and physically dominate his adversaries. Servette goalkeeper, Jérémy Frick, would have had nightmares for days after Cabral put four past him last August at St. Jakob-Park.
But You Wanted The Steak Knives
But wait, there’s more. King Arthur, who turns 24 in April, takes his penalties in a similar fashion to Jorginho, battles for every ball, and dishes out his fair share of assists (9 in the Swiss League).
Simply stated, Arthur Cabral is a Beast.
**Can he become Fiorentina’s most prolific Brazilian striker since Edmundo and perhaps surpass Sergio Clerici’s efforts? Initially, he must contend with Krzysztof Piatek for the now-vacant centrovanti position. That duel should be a delight to see, the only kind of reality television that I’d watch.
“But he’s only played in the Swiss League”
Well aside from dominating the UEFA Europa Conference League, Cabral was called up by Brazil for the World Cup qualifier away against Venezuela in October of 2021.
While still behind Gabigol, Firmino, Matheus Cunha, Antony and Gabriel Jesus in the pecking order, he did enough to catch the attention of the Seleção, not to mention Joe Barone and Vincenzo Italiano back in Florence.
Additionally, Cabral’s performances under Basel manager Patrick Rahmen have ensured his name features on Tite’s shortlist for potential selection at this year’s World Cup in Qatar. This in itself will inspire the new Fiorentina forward to get cracking in Serie A.
“Haven’t heard of him. Where did he come from?”
Unable to convince Luiz Felipe Scolari at Palmeiras, Cabral was first loaned, then bought, by FC Basel for a Swiss-League record fee of €6 million.
Arriving in Switzerland at the age of 21, he was jammed into the hole left by Albian Ajeti, who was sold by the RotBlau to West Ham for €12m in 2019 after scoring 28 times over two years.
The gamble more than paid off. In his first two campaigns, Basel was repaid with 32 League goals, 2 in the Swiss Cup and 4 in the Europa League.
Then in 2021/22, Arthur Cabral contributed 27 goals in 31 matches.
Sure, the Swiss League doesn’t contain the world’s best defences. Yes, Cabral will now be challenged by the likes of Bremer, Skriniar, Bonucci and Koulibaly.
But always look on the bright side of life. He now has first class players around him like Bonaventura, Gonzalez and Torreira which will work in his favour.
The former Ceará SC striker departs Switzerland as the sixth highest Swiss Super League transfer behind names like Matheus Cunha, Breel Embolo, and Mo Salah.
UEFA Europa Conference League
Officially, Cabral is the second-highest leading scorer (5) behind Roma’s Tammy Abraham (6), however, the busty Brasileiro ploughed 8 more in the qualifiers.
Doing all the heavy lifting, he scored all four of Basel’s goals in the qualifying play-off against Hammarby to send the tie to penalties before (yet again) tucking away the winning spot-kick in the shootout.
From there, Basel topped Group H to advance to the knockout phases as a top seed in the Round of 16. With Cabral’s departure, Basel is left with Sebastiano Esposito, on loan from Inter, to lead the front line.
Comparisons to Vlahovic
Similar to Vlahovic, Cabral possesses a robust upper body (akin to his new teammate Igor) with legs the size of Roberto Carlos. Think Felipe Caicedo (former Basel striker), Duvan Zapata, or, for the purists, Roberto Muzzi.
So far, just like deadly Dusan, we’ve discovered that Cabral can take penalties and is perilous in the six-yard box and from long range. He can also hold up the ball, dribble past (and over) defenders like Jonah Lomu trampling over his adversaries in the 1990’s. Of course, being a big bloke comes with the territory of an occasional heavy first touch.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Vlahovic is pure class and is well worth the €75m, thoroughly deserving his superstar status alongside Erling Haarland and Robert Lewandowski.
The Serbian sensation is off to Juventus for a big paycheque after Rocco Commisso agreed to an immediate big-money transfer. That’s great business, as Vlahovic is to Serie A what Arthur Cabral was to the Swiss Super League.
To Fiorentina fans, condolences for your loss. You’ll meet again, but Vlahovic will probably be flanked by Bernadeschi and Chiesa, with Chiellini and Cuadrado marking up on Cabral.
So, what can Cabral achieve at Fiorentina?
Singlehandedly, Cabral can not simply take over from where Dusan left off. Courageously, he will wear the number nine, but I don’t think anyone is expecting him to score 14 goals before the end of this campaign.
Vincenzo Italiano should be able to squeeze 10-12 goals collectively out of the Brazilian, and Krzysztof Piatek, to make a push for European football. That’s probably what Vlahovic would have contributed in the final 15 rounds or so anyway.
Apart from killer instinct in front of goal, Cabral can intelligently provide for his teammates, forming part of a hard-working attacking trio at Fiorentina.
There were big boots to fill at FC Basel, now the question is whether he can transcend and deliver in Serie A. It’s up to the Brazilian to win the starting role ahead of Piatek.
It will be fascinating to see where he’s at come Match Day 38 when Juventus plays at the Artemio Franchi.
You’ve just got to love Serie A.
*Arthur Cabral goes by the name of Arthur. However, to avoid confusing him with Juve’s Arthur Melo, I’ll refer to him as Cabral in this article.
**Yes, I know that other Brazilian strikers such as Adriano (6 goals), Ryder Matos, Keirrison and Reginaldo also played at Fiorentina, but they were hardly prolific there.
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