When David faced Goliath, the young shepherd only had a slingshot and stones to battle the giant. But, as the biblical tale goes, he also had God on his side.<\/p>\n
While Roberto \u2018Pico\u2019 Lopes<\/a> may only have his football boots as armour when World Cup<\/a> debutants Cape Verde stare down the tournament\u2019s reigning champions Argentina on Friday, he also has the support of two small island nations in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n It may not be divine intervention, but the view from Lopes\u2019s hometown of Crumlin, Dublin<\/a> 12, is that homegrown, international talent doesn\u2019t need it.<\/p>\n Pat Holmes from Lourdes Celtic Football Club coached Lopes from the age of eight until 14. Although this was now more than 20 years ago, Holmes remembers it like it was yesterday.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was just a top player,\u201d he says without hesitation. \u201cThere was nothing he couldn\u2019t do in training sessions. He played really well. He was clever and he was strong, but, more than anything, he was very much a team player.\u201d<\/p>\n Lopes would show up early for training and stay late after the session finished, his childhood coach of six years says. \u201cHe gets his discipline from his mother and father: Judy is a top woman and Carlos is a top man.<\/p>\n \u201cCarlos is the calm one, he\u2019s really calm. Judy fusses a little bit, but only to make sure everything goes well with showing up on time and stuff. But you can see a bit of Carlos coming out on the pitch, absolutely nothing fazes him,\u201d Holmes says.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s just that type of fella, he takes it all in his stride. Nothing has ever been too much for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the decades, the two men haven\u2019t lost contact. Lopes came to Holmes\u2019s home five weeks ago to give him a Cape Verde jersey he wore during an international match. Holmes has worn it for every World Cup match played by the island nation off the west coast of Africa<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it, but that\u2019s just the kind of guy he is,\u201d Holmes says of receiving the shirt. <\/p>\n He remembers when Lopes\u2019s team packed grocery bags in order to raise funds for the club and finance trips. \u201cHe was a top bag-packer too,\u201d he says. \u201cHe always did it with a smile on his face.\u201d<\/p>\n Lopes was one player in \u201ca very good squad\u201d, he\u2019s quick to point out. \u201cWe won the Dublin City Cup. We beat St Kevin\u2019s in the final. They were the best side in Dublin for their age. Every single player gave it their all.\u201d<\/p>\n The high-achieving team spirit is evident the second you walk into the clubhouse on Old County Glen. On the walls hang photographs of local former players who represented the Republic of Ireland: Damien Duff<\/a>, Andy Reid, Niall Quinn and Katie Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n A generation on, could the now-retired coach ever have imagined the young boy who joined his local club one day reaching the knockout phase of the World Cup? <\/p>\n \u201cEveryone imagines things, but that\u2019s a far-out imagination,\u201d he says. \u201cBut look, he\u2019s playing in it, he\u2019s living the dream. I suppose he\u2019s proved to us all that it can be done, no matter who you are or where you\u2019re from.\u201d<\/p>\n Holmes predicts a win for Cape Verde in its mammoth task against Argentina, captained by Lionel Messi. \u201cAnd speaking of imagination, I think an Argentinian will be sent off,\u201d he says. \u201cThey just can\u2019t handle the speed of the Cape Verde team.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Roberto can keep the game tight for the first half, they\u2019ll win 1-0,\u201d Holmes says. But, as a defender, Lopes \u201cwon\u2019t be the one scoring, unless maybe it\u2019s a corner\u201d.<\/p>\n Lopes has quickly captured the nation\u2019s attention, but it\u2019s clear he\u2019s been the pride of Crumlin for some time. James Claffey, a sports psychologist and ambassador for Lourdes Celtic, has seen just how much it matters for the local community.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s still got a really good relationship with the club,\u201d he says. \u201cWe had our summer camps this week and last, and the kids made an aerial video saying \u2018good luck\u2019 to him. He replied straight away and said it means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s \u201ca massive sense of community\u201d in the club, he says. \u201cWe\u2019ve had more kids who\u2019ve been around [since the World Cup kicked off]. We\u2019ve had more people wanting to talk about the effect of football and what Lourdes Celtic does in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n He says Dublin 8, 10 and 12 are \u201call socio-economically deprived areas, disadvantaged areas\u201d. <\/p>\n The club has situations \u201cwhere kids would arrive and they wouldn\u2019t have had a meal\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey wouldn\u2019t have access to food,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re coming from drug misuse at home and they find a place where they can express themselves. We like to believe that we\u2019ve built a community.\u201d<\/p>\n Walking around this part of Crumlin, Cape Verde flags are more common than Irish tricolours. While many in the Lopes family will be present in the Miami stadium on Friday night, a group of Cape Verde supporters will watch from Dublin 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When David faced Goliath, the young shepherd only had a slingshot and stones to battle the giant. 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