![\"Pico](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/he-won-the-world-cup-dubliner-pico-lopes-welcomed-home-to-crumlin-club.jpg\")
Lopes was cheered as he arrived at Lourdes Celtic FC in Crumlin (Grainne Ni Aodha\/PA)<\/p>\nDubliner Pico Lopes urged children to have a dream and \u201cbe a believer\u201d as he was given a hero\u2019s welcome at the club where he started playing football.<\/p>\n
The 34-year-old Cabo Verde international said life has been far from normal since he got back from the 2026 World Cup in the US, where he and the Cape Verde football team gave a plucky and inspirational performance.<\/p>\n
Dublin City Council held a civic welcome for Pico at his first club, Lourdes Celtic FC in Crumlin, to celebrate his achievements.<\/p>\n
Lopes was cheered as he arrived at Lourdes Celtic FC in Crumlin (Grainne Ni Aodha\/PA)<\/p>\n
Swarmed by crowds of admiring children asking for high fives, autographs and selfies, he said that Crumlin \u201cdeserves this day\u201d and urged the children in football gear in front of him to have a dream, \u201cbe a believer and work hard\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t just learn my football here, I learned my values, my principles and my morals and how to be a good person,\u201d he told a crowd of children gathered on the pitch at Eamonn Ceannt Park.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd your mam is Judie,\u201d one boy added.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd my mam is Judie as well,\u201d he replied, laughing.<\/p>\n
He continued: \u201cThis is what football does, this is what sport does, it brings people together, it brings communities together, and what an amazing day to celebrate Lourdes Celtic and Crumlin together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t dream of lines of people here (waiting for me), but I did dream of playing in the World Cup. I think that\u2019s important as well, it doesn\u2019t matter where you come from, or who you play for, you have to have dreams, you have to work hard, and you have to believe you\u2019ll get there.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid I think I\u2019d get there at 34? Maybe not, but I never stopped. I think that\u2019s the important message to give to all kids, boys and girls playing football: be a dreamer, be a believer and work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coaches said Pico\u2019s performance in the World Cup has piqued youngsters\u2019 interest in their local Crumlin club.<\/p>\n
![\"Pico](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785034221_789_he-won-the-world-cup-dubliner-pico-lopes-welcomed-home-to-crumlin-club.jpg\")
Pico Lopes\u2019 story was something of a fairytale in this summer\u2019s World Cup (Niall Carson\/PA)<\/p>\n
\u201cI have seen a big interest in the academy kids and the older kids when we were doing the camps here,\u201d coach Seamus O\u2019Connor told the Press Association.<\/p>\n
Children chanted \u201cPico, Pico, Pico\u201d as he arrived onto the pitch at Eamonn Ceannt Park on Saturday afternoon with his family, before he was swarmed by children raising their hands for a high five or jerseys for an autograph.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe won the World Cup,\u201d one boy said, while another asked Lopes what he said to Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi during their epic World Cup clash in Miami in the round of 32.<\/p>\n
Bella McAnaspie, six, from Clondalkin, had Lopes as her favourite player before the World Cup began, over goal-scoring giants Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.<\/p>\n
![\"Pico](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785034222_528_he-won-the-world-cup-dubliner-pico-lopes-welcomed-home-to-crumlin-club.jpg\")
Lopes reached the round of 32 with Cape Verde in this summer\u2019s World Cup (Grainne Ni Aodha\/PA)<\/p>\n
Wearing a Pico Lopes kit, with matching navy bows in her hair, she said that she is his biggest fan and likes how he plays.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s just a very good player,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very good against Messi, but Argentina won, I feel bad for Pico.\u201d<\/p>\n
Goalie Jackson Costello, 10, from Crumlin, said he has been playing football \u201csince I could stand\u201d and said Pico did \u201cgreat\u201d in the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just an honour that he played for our club, and we\u2019re growing up in the same environment as he did, you can look up to him as he played in the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo all you need to imagine is just that you play for Lourdes now, and then imagine you could play in the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lennon Masterson, 10, from Tallaght, plays for Lourdes Celtic FC, said he was proud of seeing a local footballer compete in the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was hoping they would beat Argentina,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and my friends, sometimes we go to Tallaght stadium and watch Rovers playing and I\u2019ve met him before.<\/p>\n
![\"Pico](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1785034222_768_he-won-the-world-cup-dubliner-pico-lopes-welcomed-home-to-crumlin-club.jpg\")
Lopes provided one of the most remarkable stories of the World Cup (Grainne Ni Aodha\/PA)<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he should leave Cape Verde and join Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Keilyn Ellis, 11, from James\u2019 Street, who said he used to play for Lourdes Celtic FC, said seeing Pico play at the World Cup made him want to play football more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m so proud to have him as a club member, because he came from all the way through Lourdes as one of the best players, to the World Cup,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was able to start from a club, never gave up on his dream, and made it to the world\u2019s biggest stage and I really thought that he was a really good player.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cI thought he was very good, he played against one of the best players in the world and it was a close match.<\/p>\n
![\"Cork](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/95347-3009927-e1785008070258.jpg\")
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