'You must enjoy these moments, they don’t last forever': Pico Lopes returns home after World Cup heroics
Cape Verde footballer Pico Lopes is greeted by his parents Carlos and Judie Lopes. his wife Leah and eight-month-old son Diego as he returns home to Dublin Airport. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire
It’s difficult enough to absorb the World Cup life-changing experience without traversing three times zones but Pico Lopes was living in the moment during Monday’s homecoming.
Facing the joint-favourites Spain, champions Argentina and the peerless Lionel Messi are memories the Shamrock Rovers man will cherish in time.
Nevertheless, the simple pleasures were top of his menu once he touched down at Dublin Airport.
“I was saying to my wife Leah that I can't wait for us to get home with our son Diego, shut the door on all the noise and leave the bubble behind,” explained the 34-year-old.
“At a tournament so big as the World Cup, it’s 24-7 football and you're getting everything handed to you.
“You hear it's the biggest stage of football, and I got loads of advice from people, but it’s only when I got there and felt it, that it completely blew everything else out of the water. From the training camp to the American facilities, everything was there for us to perform.
“But, after all that, just miss that little bit of normality. Like what are we going to cook for dinner? Will we do the food shop today or tomorrow? I wanted that bubble straight after Friday’s game against Argentina.”
It took Messi and Co until extra-time to see off the tournament’s surprise story, eventually scraping through 3-2 through an own-goal.
Draws in each of their four 90-minute matches was an admirable return, especially given Spain, Argentina and Uruguay are all previous champions.
He’d promised in advance to refrain from jersey swap hunting, despite the gallery of available stars, and the shirts his family will treasure most are the ones adorned with the crest of his father Carlos’s homeland.
“I didn't collect any because the one I asked for (Mikel Oyarzabal's) after the first game against Spain was already taken by the other centre-back (Diney Borges). That was me done. I'd rather have the Cape Verde jerseys because they're the memories that will stick for me. And the shirts I can pass on to my son to wear in the future.”
His own immediate future, once the domestic bliss returns and he undertakes some punditry duties, is rejoining his Rovers teammates this weekend. Next Tuesday’s Champions League second leg against Floriana at Tallaght will mark his comeback for the Hoops. Further beyond, there’s the African Nations Cup of 2028 to visualise but the veteran isn’t committing to prolonging his international career yet.
“The World Cup is still sort of fresh and I need to pick the balance when the dust settles,” he admitted.
“I have Shamrock Rovers to focus on, which is great for my routine, keeping my mind where it needs to be.
“I won't get carried away on anything, what's in the future is in the future because one thing I've learnt, which I've tried to do my whole life but especially in the World Cup, is live in the moment. You must enjoy these moments because they don’t last forever.”
He has lifetime World Cup memories which none of his compatriots in the 1992 age-group possess. There was much hype around the Ireland U19 squad Lopes was a peripheral part of when they qualified for the Euros in 2011.
Lopes was left behind, instead declaring for Cape Verde on a journey that began with his debut at 28.
“Paul Doolin gave me three minutes on the pitch in the final qualifier against Italy and though I can't remember if I touched the ball, it was a huge, proud moment for me at the time,” he recalls.
“That age-group had John Egan, Matt Doherty, Jeff Hendrick and Robbie Brady.
“To be honest, I wasn't good enough. That's not me not being modest about it because it's reality. I knew I had to develop, I'd seen the sort of skill and talent that was available in Ireland at that age and where I was at that time.
“If you had asked then which one of us would reach the World Cup, I definitely wouldn’t have said it would be me.”
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