There is the ice pack wrapped around his knee while picking up his daughter from school and the sharp pain that plagues him after a simple afternoon of practice. The reminder of the past two seasons and five knee surgeries is always there for Denison Cabral.
Now, all he wants is a championship.
“Last time I won a championship, I wasn?t on the field,” Cabral said of the Blast?s 2006 Major Indoor Soccer League title. “I want to win at least one more when I?m on the field. I think there?s a chance this year. … Hopefully, we come up on fire in the playoffs.”
Cabral tore both his left and right anterior cruciate ligaments and played in just 14 games over the past two seasons. This season, he has played in 22 of the team?s 24 games.
He?s second in both goals and assists, scoring 20 two-point goals with 14 assists. His 54 points are also second on the team.
“It?s just a great feeling to see how he?s contributing to the team right now,” Blast president/general manager Kevin Healey said.
Healey remembers a younger Cabral ? one that didn?t speak English and wouldn?t miss a game. Now, Cabral is simply enjoying the opportunity to play.
“I?m just going out there to have fun,” Cabral said. “Whatever happens, happens. But I?m going to be there working hard.”
Blast fans know him as the energetic goal-scorer who traded in his trademark back-flip celebration for a glass-climbing, fist-pumping one. Airline flight attendants know him as the guy who asks for an ice pack as soon as he reaches his seat. But for Cabral, the opportunity to play outweighs the pain.
“It?s just incredible pain,” Cabral said of nights after games and practice.
He takes an anti-inflammatory medicine to battle severe tendinitis. But the pain and hard work paid of Thursday morning when, just before practice, Cabral sat in the bleachers at the team?s Canton training facility ? Clarence “Du” Burns Arena ? and opened a white envelope. Inside was a congratulations letter from the U.S. National Futsal Team. The Brazil native made the U.S. indoor national team and will travel with the team this summer.
“This is great. This is unbelievable,” Cabral said. “Hopefully, I?ll be wearing the U.S. national team jersey very soon.”
All he has to do is finalize his citizenship paperwork. After five surgeries, paperwork should be a breeze.
THE CABRAL FILE
» Age: 33
» Height: 5-foot-4
» Did you know: Cabral is the Blast franchise leader in goals (378) and points (774). He is third in assists (147) and needs just nine more games to reach fourth place on the games-played list ? Cabral is the head coach of the St. Mary?s varsity boys soccer team.
