An ambidextrous full-back, he stands out for his irreverence, creativity, and unpredictability in the final third, thanks to his excellent versatility. For some reason, he’s one of the league’s players who gets to the byline most often…
Scouting Report” is an analysis section from ProScout, a company specializing in scouting and analysis, which each week will highlight a player from Portuguese or international football who is worth paying attention to.
Sidny Cabral, from the German third division to the big stages.
Age: 23 years old (18/09/2002)
Position: Full=back
Club: Estrela Amadora
Country: Cape Verde
Sidny Cabral has been one of the standout players in the league in the first half of the season and could make the next big step very soon. The full-back was born in Rotterdam and trained in the Netherlands before moving to Sweden and later to Germany. It was in Germany that he made his name, more specifically at Viktoria Köln in the third tier.
Estrela signed the player for free this season and is now preparing to pocket more than six million euros from his sale to Benfica, as Maisfutebol has already reported .
Strengths: mobility, speed, versatility, getting into the final third, crossing, dribbling and set pieces.
The versatile 23-year-old full-back has already played in several positions this season, and in various tactical systems. He started as a right-back in a five-man defense, moved to the left, and later even played as a winger.
He demonstrated performance in all positions for the Reboleira team, with 16 games, five goals and three assists, attracting the attention of several clubs.
Gifted with excellent physical and technical abilities, Sidny can easily unbalance defenses in the final third, thanks to his speed and mobility. He is one of the players in the league with the most progressive runs and runs to the byline.
He manages to combine dribbling skills with good crossing ability, also being the player with the most crosses and accurate crosses in the league. Very irreverent and creative, he is unpredictable in his actions because he possesses excellent bilaterality. The ambidextrous full-back always looks to shoot whenever he has space to aim at the opponent’s goal.
Areas for improvement: tactical reading, defensive duels.
Sidny has progressed rapidly through the ranks in recent months. His excellent start to the championship with Estrela has made him a top choice for Cape Verde, a national team he already represented in 2023, but now on a more regular basis.
At the start of the season there might have been some doubts because it was his first time at a more demanding competitive level and because his profile fit better in a back five, due to the offensive projection he gives to the team and not having so many defensive concerns.
The truth is that throughout the season Estrela has lined up with a back four a few times, as has Cabo Verde. Although he is more comfortable in a back five, he hasn’t compromised defensively when playing with only four defenders. He can, however, improve his defensive duels to become a more complete player. He can also develop his tactical awareness to attack with more purpose and effectiveness, without neglecting his defensive responsibilities, even though he can quickly recover his position thanks to his speed.
Potential
Sidny Cabral’s meteoric rise could take on new dimensions in the coming days, should his transfer to Benfica be confirmed. The full=back arrives to compete on both flanks, and can also be used as a winger.
In Benfica’s current context, he could be a valid option to Dahl and Dedic, being a player with different characteristics from what José Mourinho already has at his disposal.
He can come on in the final minutes of matches to try and unbalance the game and change things up, either through crosses if the opponent is playing more defensively, or through his speed, which is important in more open games, to look for quick transitions.
Sidny is today a modern full-back to watch closely in the coming times.