Irishman is found by Linkedin and will play African Cup for Cape Verde

Irish Roberto Lopes, 29, remembers logging into Linkedin in 2019 and finding a message from an unknown person, written in an indecipherable language. Didn’t pay any attention. Months later there was another text from the same sender. The second time he understood. It was in English.

“What’s up, Roberto? Did you think about my proposal?”

That question transformed his life. It was the gateway for the defender of Shamrock Rovers, from the Irish league, to play for the Cape Verde national team. This Sunday (9), the team debuts in the African Cup of Nations against Ethiopia in Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, at 16:00 (GMT), broadcast by Band.

Lopes copied the original text and inserted it into Google Translate. It had been sent in Portuguese. He said that the federation of the African country knew of his Cape Verdean ancestry and invited him to defend the national team. It was written by the team’s coach, Janito Carvalho.

“It was really crazy. I thought the message was spam [termo que determina propagandas ou ofertas indesejadas enviadas pela internet]. I forgot the matter. When I found out what it was, I replied straight away that I would love to be part of the cast. From there, everything went very fast. I was very happy for the opportunity”, says Roberto, in English. He still doesn’t speak Portuguese.

Asked if he learned the language of his parents’ country of origin, he takes a risk.

“A little.”

“That’s Spanish,” points out someone on his side.

“Oh. Sorry,” he replies, in English.

That’s nothing. The real challenge was his initiation test with the other players of the selection, in his first call-up. He had to sing a song in Cape Verdean Creole, the country’s everyday language. Portuguese is the official one.

“Crioulo is very difficult. I was nervous, but I think I did well. The other players made me feel very comfortable. I was at home”, he adds.

Lopes explains that he accepted the federation’s invitation for two reasons. He had visited Cape Verde before with his parents, but defending the national team and being in the country more often represent a chance to learn about the history of his ancestors. There is also the football motif.

Born in the suburbs of Dublin, Lopes has a successful career in Irish football. He defended the Bohemians and is now in Shamrock Rovers. They are the two most popular teams in their homeland. He was national champion in 2020 and 2021 and won the 2019 Irish Cup. To be part of the European team, you need more.

Those called up hardly play in the country’s league. They play in England or Scotland because of the level of football. The irony is that Ireland, in the 1980s, was the first federation to seek out athletes born in other countries who could defend the land of their ancestors. The device used by Roberto Lopes to play for Cape Verde.

“The quality of African football is very high, and the Cup has an excellent level. For me, it is on the same level as European competitions”, he praises. “Most of our players play in France. It’s a dream to play in this tournament. I’ve always watched it on television.”

It will be Cape Verde’s third participation. In 2013, the team reached the quarter-finals and lost to Ghana. Two years later, it dropped into the group stage. This year, in addition to Ethiopia, which they face in their debut, they are in the bracket with Burkina Faso and Cameroon. The two best advance.

“My family is very proud to be here. I am representing our country of origin. My friends in Dublin were very interested in knowing more, in learning about Cape Verde. It is a huge experience”, celebrates Lopes.

He already has his eyes on the future: the World Cup. In the qualifiers for this year’s tournament in Qatar, the team narrowly missed a place in the third and decisive phase. It was two points behind Nigeria. The target is now 2026, in the competition that will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“It’s very difficult to qualify in the African qualifiers. There are five spots. But this last campaign of ours in the qualifiers gave us a lot of belief that we can do it next time. It’s possible”, he believes.

Perhaps he could even be the Irish representative at the Worlds. His homeland has not been present since 2002. Due to the current situation of football on the European and African continents, it may be easier for Cape Verde to qualify than for Ireland.

“I speak well about Dublin to the people here on the team, and they are curious. But when I say that it is cold and it rains a lot, they give up knowing”, Roberto Lopes laughs.