Introduction
Rafael Cabral Barbosa (born 20 May 1990), known as Rafael Cabral or simply Rafael, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Italian club Napoli as a goalkeeper.
Club career
Santos
Born in Sorocaba, Rafael joined Santos youth system in 2003. In 2010, he was promoted to the first team, but broke his right leg in a split with the centre back Domingos, who then played for Santos, being sidelined for four months.
Rafael played in the second half of the match between Santos and the New York Red Bulls in the United States. It was won by Red Bull by 3–1 but Rafael did not concede a goal, the three goals from New York were scored in the first half, when the goalkeeper was Fábio Costa.
His debut in the first team for Santos in an official game took place on 2 June 2010, the match between Santos and Cruzeiro in Mineirão, where the score was 0–0. He took the place of Felipe, who had played all previous 37 games that season.
On 20 August 2012, Rafael Cabral's right eye started bleeding when he collided with Juan Manuel Martínez in a 2012 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A fixture between Santos and Corinthians. He then recovered and was able to continue the game. Santos won the game 3–2.
Napoli
On 28 June 2013, Rafael was sold from Santos to Italian side Napoli. Azzurri paid €5 million for the Brazilian goalkeeper. Rafael made his UEFA Champions League debut against Arsenal in a group stage match in Naples. Napoli won the match 2-0 and Rafael was able to keep a clean sheet against the English side. Nevertheless, Napoli was unable to advance out of the group stages.
He was manager Rafael Benítez's first-choice goalkeeper for the 2014–15 season following the departure of the loaned-in Pepe Reina. On 22 December, in the 2014 Supercoppa Italiana in Doha, he gave Napoli victory over Juventus by saving from Simone Padoin in sudden death at the end of a penalty shootout.
International career
Rafael made his debut for Brazil against the United States on 30 May 2012, in a 4–1 win.
He was called up to represent Brazil national under-23 football team at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London but was later replaced due to injury.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Santos | 2010 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 36 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 32 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 68 | 0 | ||
| 2012 | 25 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 53 | 0 | ||
| 2013 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 23 | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| Total | 94 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 61 | 0 | 189 | 0 | |
| Napoli | 2013–14 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 11 | 0 | |
| 2014–15 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 | |
| 2015–16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 0 | |
| Career total | 126 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 62 | 0 | 234 | 0 | |
Honours
Club
- São Paulo State League: 2010, 2011, 2012
- Copa do Brasil: 2010
- Copa Libertadores: 2011
- Recopa Sudamericana: 2012
- Coppa Italia: 2013–14
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2014
International
- Superclásico de las Américas: 2014