HAVING RETURNED HOME to Ireland after making history at the World Cup, Crumlin native Roberto “Pico” Lopes sat down with Colette Fitzpatrick for The Big Interview this evening.

Lopes was joined by his wife, Leah and his mother, Judie, who spoke of their perspectives of Lopes’ journey to the biggest stage in football and the pride of watching him represent Cape Verde at the World Cup.

Lopes, the Dublin-born centre-back, who plays for Cape Verde through his father, had a fantastic performance in the World Cup as they reached the knockout stages, a world’s first for the small island nation. 

Cape Verde defied expectations after proceeding from a group featuring Spain and Uruguay, before playing against reigning world champions Argentina last Friday.

Throughout the tournament, Lopes has been praised for his performances, including against Messi and Argentina.  

Lopes and Messi exchanged words during the match at half-time, and Lopes described the interaction on The Big Interview.

“We locked eyes, and he was still giving out. I said, look I just had to make sure you were staying there, you weren’t running in behind me. We shook hands.”

Describing Messi’s play more broadly, Lopes said: “There’s obviously times where he drifts into your eyeline and you’re sort of.. a bit on edge. 

“He has this thing, which I found playing him, that he’s trying to bait you out into positions you don’t want to be.

“People say he’s walking for half the game, but he’s not walking because he’s tired. He’s walking, trying to see, where can I go, where can I hurt you the most.

“As soon as you make a decision, he’ll react off you. And normally the results are devastating, which we found out.”

Speaking about her husband, Leah said that she “can always come home to Pico”.

“He always… brings me back down and makes me feel that everything’s going to be alright.

“He’s always been very consistent, very caring, and just somebody who’s always been there for me.” 

Lopes was given a hero’s welcome on his return to Ireland on Monday, and was met at Dublin airport by a crowd of friends, family and Shamrock Rovers supporters.

As he returns to domestic football with Shamrock Rovers, Lopes also talked about the next chapter of his career and reflected on what the World Cup summer means for him, his family and the Cape Verdean community.

You can watch a replay of The Big Interview with Roberto “Pico” Lopes and Colette Fitzpatrick on Virgin Media Play.