The 42 reports from Florida

ROBERTO ‘PICO’ LOPES sat on an egg chair in the corner of the Cape Verde team hotel and held his son, Diego, in his arms.

He needed a feed.

Diego was up well past his usual bedtime and this was a chance for his mammy, Pico’s wife Leah, to have a rest. She handed Pico the bottle, and he sunk into the chair holding his son tightly.

It was seven minutes past midnight and just a couple of hours earlier Pico was getting touch tight with Lionel Messi. So much so that when the Cape Verde centre back put his arm out to stop the Argentinian icon from running beyond him off the ball it led to some words when the half-time whistle blew.

What was said?

Well, it was Spanish, with Pico explaining how Messi turned to him and complained about his: “Hey Lopes, without the ball that’s a foul,” Messi said.

Pico fought his corner and told Messi he had to stand his ground. “He was sound after that,” Pico said, still soaking in the magnitude of the entire World Cup journey back at the team hotel in Fort Lauderdale 20 minutes from the Miami Stadium.

“We came so close to pushing the current world champions all the way. Yeah, a little bit disappointed I suppose, about how we conceded some of the goals, especially from set-pieces. We are quite strong at that.

“But then we showed great character and I think we’ve shown that throughout this tournament that we’re more than capable of competing against some of the best teams. And that was our goal when we came here, so we can be proud of that.

“Besides the football, that’s probably one of the happiest things for us. Nobody asks where Cape Verde is any more. They know where they are, they know what we’re about. We’re known as a football nation now. We’re here.

Judie Lopes with the ambassador's son, Carlos.

“I think the most important thing now is in four years time, we have a Cape Verde team here. Hopefully we’ve inspired a new generation of footballers to believe. To believe what you can achieve with a bit of hard work. And yeah, this is the stage you want to be. You get a taste for it, you want to be back.

“My goal 10 years ago was to get out of the job that I was working and try and make it as a professional footballer. I’ve just tried to work every day to get better,” an emotional Lopes said.

Speaking immediately after the match, Messi also reflected on what his side had been put through by Cape Verde.

“It was a very tough game. They hadn’t lost to Spain or Uruguay. We did the most difficult thing, which was to score the first goal. We thought that we would be able to play our game and be calm, but it was the opposite.

“We lost the ball, we were a bit behind, we couldn’t press it well. They hit us with their weapons. We knew it would be difficult. This is a kill-kill game and no one gives you anything.

“We knew it wouldn’t be easy. This is what sets this World Cup apart. It’s all very even, very complicated, all the games are going to be very difficult. We suffered a lot.”

Scores of friends, family, fans (and The 42) had been invited back to Cape Verde’s hotel for a chance to savour and celebrate what they had achieved.

Their run to the last 32 may have ended with a 3-2 defeat to Argentina in extra time in Miami on Friday night, but the nature of their performances means the Cape Verde spirit captivated the tournament and will live on in World Cup folklore.

Deroy Duarte, the scorer of Cape Verde’s first equaliser, was looking for Pico in the hotel as they mixed up their travel bags. He spotted Pico’s mother, Judie, and made a beeline to speak with her. Duarte had to get in line as chants of PICO, PICO, PICO also began to fill the air in the lobby.

A queue of people were waiting for selfies and the chats. One of them was Carlos – Judie took great pleasure informing him that is Pico’s dad’s name – who was wearing a pair of black sunglasses and draped in a Cape Verde flag.

He reminded Judie that they met earlier in the day. Turns out that Carlos is the son of the Cape Verdean ambassador to China. He moved to Beijing when he was 15 and has made a life there for himself. He’s married to an Italian woman and in this moment there was not a prouder man in the world.

He pours out his heart to Judie, explaining the words of a powerful song in Creole to The 42 and Daniel McDonnell of the Irish Independent who was also invited back.

“It means like ‘nobody can handle us, when we come, when I’m true to myself, I can’t hold it and I’m going to express it’. It’s like a slave sort of a term,” Carlos said.

This was a celebration. Carlos, Pico’s dad, had already helped himself to a shot or two of of Grogue (Cape Verde’s answer to poitín) when they got back to the hotel and later on in the private dining room he tucked in to some nice cheesecake.

“It’s been a long day, I need to eat. I am so proud, what a match that was,” he said, beaming.

The players sat with their families at the various tables and the game was being replayed on a TV. A young boy in an Argentina jersey with Messi 10 on the back buzzes about the room, too.

All of Pico’s immediate family are here together. Leah’s parents, Barbara and Martin, brother Christopher, and two of her best friends, Nadine and Shannon, all travelled via campervan and then private jet are sat alongside Carlos, Judie and Pico’s two brothers, Jacques and Cristover.

“At the end, Argentina won the match but I think Cape Verde won the hearts and souls of so many people during this tournament,” Judie says, as Leah explains the emotions of watching her husband perform over the last three weeks.

“I’m just so incredibly proud of him, just really happy for him. He’s put in years of blood, sweat and tears, the dedication and commitment he had. To see him out there [against Argentina] it was really gorgeous for him.

“I couldn’t be happier for him. It’s lovely that Cape Verde and Ireland have crossed paths in Pico.”

Normal life will resume for them all soon but there will be more celebrations to come. A homecoming for the Cape Verde players has been arranged on their homeland.

The 42's David Sneyd with Pico Lopes.

The plan is to fly back on Saturday night and Pico is expected to be part of that before returning to duty with Shamrock Rovers after the first leg of their first round Champions League qualifier away to Floriana of Malta on Tuesday.

He didn’t swap jerseys with any Argentina player, preferring to hold onto his Cape Verde shirts as a matter of pride and principle.

“I’m quite sad still that we’re going home,” he said. “This is a project we’ve been working on not just the last few weeks, but a number of years. We’re trying to get to this stage to showcase what Cape Verde can do.

“One of the pleasing things that’s come out of this World Cup is that nobody has to ask what Cape Verde is. They know where we are on the map. They know what we’re like as a team. I think all Cape Verdeans around the world who are inspired to be footballers, we’ve shown the way today.

“I’m hoping the new generation is taking in some of the stars that we have out there. If they want to be on that stage, that’s a bond. I think that’s our joy of the competition for the next generation. We still have a lot of young players in there who are the next talent. They’ve shown the way that is possible in football.”

It was just after 1.30am when they began to go their separate ways. Pico gave Diego a kiss as he remained conked out asleep in his arms.

Some dreams never end.

Written by David Sneyd and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.