THE World Cup dream might have died last month but the African Cup of Nations in the New Year is a decent consolation.
Roberto Lopes’ efforts for Shamrock Rovers in helping the club to retain their league title have brought individual recognition.
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The defender was included in the PFA Ireland Team of the Year and nominated for Player of the Year.
He will discover tonight whether he has collected the top gong ahead of Bohemians striker Georgie Kelly or St Pat’s FAI Cup-winning midfielder Chris Forrester.
While Kelly sizes up where he will be playing his football next year and Forrester wonders who his manager will be, Lopes has something concrete to look forward to.
Because for the last two years, the Crumlin man has been living a double life. As well as being a vital cog for Rovers, he makes regular trips to Africa to represent Cape Verde, the land of his father Carlos.
First brought to the attention of the country’s association when he was at Bohemians, his accelerated progress as a full-time footballer at Rovers saw him called up.
It has not been without its challenges, particularly in a Covid-19 world. He was on a flight with a positive case but the disruption was put in the ha’penny place when mandatory hotel quarantine was introduced while he was away.
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Still, it will be all worthwhile next month in Cameroon where the islanders will face the hosts, Burkina Faso and Ethiopia in just their third appearance at the finals.
Lopes said: “If I look back on all the times I played for Cape Verde, it’s truly unbelievable. It’s been a dream come true. I’m just so proud to represent my family. I’d never see it as a hindrance.
“Every time I go to a new country, I look back at visas on my passport and think, ‘I’m one lucky guy’.
“I have to kind of pinch myself sometimes and say, ‘I’m actually here to play football’.
“It’s incredible really, going to countries that you never dream of going to, like Rwanda, Mozambique. You’re going there and you get to see the culture over there.”
The supporters stand out as a big difference for someone who crossed the Dublin divide.
UNBELIEVABLE ATMOSPHERE
He said: “It could be 500 people, it could be 500,000 people and the noise is the exact same — all dancing, all music, all cheering, for both teams.
“It’s not sort of biased to the home nation. I remember going into the ground in Senegal, and Nigeria, and you’re getting clapped off the bus.
“There are big cheers going off, so the atmosphere is unbelievable.”
Efforts to assimilate in the team and strengthen his bond with the country have continued, having visited just a couple of times as a kid.
He said: “I’m getting in touch with my father’s side of the family and meeting cousins that I had never met before, it really is something to grab hold of and don’t let go as long as you can.
“You get away with Portuguese but all the players would be able to speak Creole. I am getting better.
POKEMON
“On the pitch, it’s easy. You know what you want to say. It’s when you’re having a conversation, it gets a little bit more difficult.
“The most important thing is to practise. I’ve been watching Pokemon in Portuguese. I actually think to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ but it’s probably the best.
“It’s a children’s programme and probably the most basic language, so it definitely did help.
“If I’m watching stuff in English, there’s the option there for Portuguese subtitles, I’ll throw it on just to get a bit more familiar with it.
“I got a bit lazy for a while but I’ll be back on it before January.”
It is unlikely Lopes’ family will travel to the finals, because of all the vaccinations — aside from the obvious Covid one — needed.
AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS
He explained: “There are just so many things, so much hassle, going through the airport, that it may not be worth it, the way things are.”
In the meantime, he is enjoying spending time with them at home, ahead of flying out on St Stephen’s Day or the day after.
He will be in touch with Rovers strength and conditioning coach Darren Dillon to ensure he is tip-top for international duty.
Cape Verde’s best performance was in 2013, when they reached the quarter-finals.
They were unbeaten in qualification this time around. Although Cameroon pipped them to top spot, Cape Verde drew with the Indomitable Lions away and beat them at home which should mean they hold no fears ahead of a rematch.
Lopes said: “We’re quietly confident. First of all qualifying for this tournament in a group with Cameroon, Mozambique and Rwanda, and then the World Cup qualifiers, we got some really good experience, really good tests along the way.
WORLD CUP DISAPPOINTMENT
“We played Senegal, one of the top African nations. The Brazil team that won Olympic gold, we beat them in June.
“It was really good for getting to know each other and just instilling a real belief that we’re actually good enough to mix it with some top teams.
“We’ll be going over there quietly confident and hopefully we can cause a few upsets.”
Even so, there is still disappointment that they are not still in the mix for World Cup qualification.
They needed to win in Nigeria in their final group game to be one of the ten teams to enter the play-offs.
A Lopes error in the first minute saw Napoli striker Victor Osimhen put the Super Eagles ahead.
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The visitors responded immediately but could not find a winner.
He said: “It’s difficult to qualify from Africa. There are only five allocated places but I thought we had a really good opportunity to get the job done.
“I didn’t start the game particularly well. I made a hames of a header, which led to their first goal.
“He could be a 400m runner, he’s just incredibly quick and sharp and just keeps going.
“To get an equaliser straight after that was brilliant. It was a bit of a scrappy game after that.
“It was just gutting to feel we were this close to making the playoffs, we just couldn’t get the other goal that would have sealed it.”
Still, whatever 2022 brings, 2021 was a good year for the 29-year-old as the Hoops finished well clear of the chasing pack with Lopes’ recognised by opposition players.
Lopes said: “It’s nice when your peers are saying either they had a difficult game against you or they rate you really highly.
“They’re not the sexiest of footballers at times, but it’s great to be able to represent defenders.”
