Cape Verde is the biggest outsider imaginable at the Africa Cup of Nations. Nevertheless, the ragtag team from all over the world duped the stars of the continent.
Roberto Lopes has not yet forgotten the problem from last Friday. “I don’t know if I’ve ever been so exhausted after a football game”reports the experienced defense attorney Shamrock Rovers. The 31-year-old is currently far away from his homeland of Ireland – he is playing for Cape Verde in the Africa Cup of Nations.
And extremely successfully. On Monday evening (January 22, 2024), the island kickers from the African west coast moved into the round of 16 as clear first in preliminary group B after a dramatic 2-2 draw against record-breaking Egypt.
“It’s so hot here”
“Pico”, as Lopes is known, was born in Dublin but has been playing for the national team of the West African archipelago since 2019. His father was born there – hence his eligibility to play.
“It’s so incredibly hot here”says Lopes about the conditions at the Africa Cup of Nations. Ivory Coast has a tropical climate. Even at night the temperature rarely drops below 30 degrees, during the day it almost always goes up to 36 degrees and more with high humidity. “After the victory over Mozambique, we hardly had any energy left to celebrate”says Lopes. “We had to get into the dressing room first, relax and drink a lot.”
Group winners ahead of the continent’s big boys
The fact that Lopes can live with the efforts at the moment also has to do with the fact that his team has been the big positive surprise at Africa’s continental tournament so far. With just over 500,000 inhabitants, Cape Verde is also a dwarf on the continent in terms of football. In the Ivory Coast, the mixed team of players from all over the world created a sensation: after two opening victories, the “Blue Sharks“as the first team to advance to the knockout rounds.
First, Ghana was sensationally defeated 2-1, then a confident 3-0 win over Mozambique followed. This meant that the team was already confirmed as the winner of Group B before the final preliminary round game against Egypt. “It’s great for us. It’s clear that we can stay at the same venue and in the same hotel. A big advantage, because the strain of travel here in Africa shouldn’t be underestimated.”says Lopes.
Manuel Dias Correira – successful with Cape Verde
“Bebé” – Manchester’s “transfer flop” is flourishing
Against Mozambique, striker Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, known as “Bebé”, scored a dream goal: from around 40 meters, the gigantic left winger from Cape Verde smashed a free kick à la Cristiano Ronaldo once over the opposing keeper’s fists and into the net. “We all know ‘Bebé’ has things like that,” says “Pico” Lopes.
“Bebé’s” story is also one that fits well with the Cape Verde team. Born in Lisbon in 1990, the 1.90 meter tall attacker initially had a picture-perfect career. The son of Cape Verdean immigrants moved from Portugal to the U21 national team in 2010 Vitoria Guimaraes for around ten million euros Manchester United. He was recommended to Alex Ferguson and was supposed to compete with the team at the time Man United seeds Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.
17 club changes in 13 years
But “Bebé” didn’t make the breakthrough – an odyssey of loans and sales began across Europe. At United he was soon considered a classic transfer flop. Today the now 33-year-old, who has been transferred 17 times since 2010, plays for Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish La Liga.
After never making it for Portugal’s senior national team, “Bebé” applied for eligibility to play for Cape Verde in 2019, for which he was finally able to make his debut in 2022.
Qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 2013
The team is a truly diverse bunch of players from all over the world. It is estimated that in addition to the half a million people who live on the nine inhabited islands about 460 kilometers off West Africa, there are just as many more living all over the world.
From this pool, the then national coach Lucio Antunes first looked for suitable players with Cape Verdean roots for his national team in 2012. He found what he was looking for primarily in Portugal’s second and third leagues. And in 2013 he was celebrated as the “Mourinho of Cape Verde” when he knocked Samuel Eto’o’s Cameroon, the big favorites, out of the competition in the last qualifying game for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Players from all over the world with Cape Verdean roots
Since then, those in charge at the “Sharks” have made this a part of their program: the search for players with Cape Verdean roots. The 26 players in the squad earn their money in 16 different countries – most of them still in the former colonial power Portugal. But there are also players who play in the USA, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates.
The coach is Pedro Brito Leitao, known as “Bubista”, who himself played as a defender for Cape Verde for 14 years and was captain of the national team while playing club football in Angola and Spain. In January 2020, he replaced Rui Aguas as national coach. The 54-year-old announces before the upcoming knockout games: “Cape Verde has never won a knockout game at the Africa Cup of Nations. This time it’s happening. We’re ready for it. I know it.”