Sawt Falasteen - 'Pico' Lopes -- Cape Verde defender's journey from Ireland to World Cup

The 34-year-old's outstanding defensive performance for Cape Verde in the 0-0 draw with European champions Spain on Monday justified his decision to cut short working in the bank in 2017 and bet the house on making it as a professional footballer.

At the time he was combining his job with playing for Bohemians in the League of Ireland when their wealthier Dublin rivals Shamrock Rovers offered him a professional contract.

The World Cup has catapulted him to a different level of exposure, appearing on US TV following the impressive World Cup debut by the African volcanic archiphelago of just 525,000 people.

Lopes, born in Ireland to Cape Verdean father Carlos and Irish mother Judy, was invited on to James Corden's World Cup show on broadcaster Fox.

He said it was "the stuff of dreams" and it certainly has been since he belatedly put a message he received in 2018 from then Cape Verde coach Rui Aguas on LinkedIn, into Google Translate.

Aguas had got back in touch nine months later to ask him if he had he considered his offer.

"He said they were interested in getting new players into the national team and asked if it would be of interest," Lopes told AFP in 2024.

"I said absolutely and apologised profusely, and that if the opportunity was still there I would love to be a part of it."

- 'A dreamer' -

Lopes said looking back he had thought the offer was a wind-up.

"I grew up in an era of prank phone calls and prank messages so I was always a bit sceptical," he told the Irish Sun.

"I never thought an international call-up would come that way."

Since making his debut in 2019 Lopes has been to two Africa Cup of Nations -- reaching the quarter-finals in the 2023 edition -- and now the pinnacle of any footballer's career, the World Cup.

His performance against Spain was followed by several generations of his family, including his 98-year-old grandfather in Cape Verde.

His parents and two brothers along with his wife Leah and baby son Diego were at the match in Atlanta.

"He (Diego) slept through most of the match -- it shows you how boring Spain was," chuckled Lopes.

While Lopes, who has won five Irish titles with Shamrock Rovers, has been in a bubble at the squad's base, his family have been hailed in the streets by Cape Verde supporters.

"They've seen us on TV, they've been approaching us on the street saying, 'We recognise you', all the way from Crumlin (the neighbourhood in Dublin where the family live), can you believe it?" Judy told RTE.

Lopes is still glad he went to college in Dublin, just in case the football career all grinds to a halt one day.

"If I didn't go to college or I didn't pursue education, I wouldn't have known what LinkedIn was," he told The Irish Sun.

"Your education is just as important.

"I've been able to balance (the job and football) and then get to a stage where I've left employment to go to full-time football."

However, he recalls that even before he turned professional, he imagined playing for Cape Verde when he watched them in their maiden Africa Cup of Nations appearance in 2013.

"I am a dreamer. You watch anything yourself . . . 'Could that be me? I wonder if that would ever happen to me?'"

The answer was yes and thirteen years later he is living the dream at the 'Beautiful Game's' showpiece event.

pi/gj

P.Tamimi--SF-PST