The 34th Africa Cup, which is currently being played in Ivory Coast, is now even a topic at Forbes. At the end of last week, the renowned US business magazine reported that the success of the outsider team Cape Verde at the most important African football event also had something to do with the USA. After all, full-back Steven Moreira, a man from Columbus Crew, a team from the North American professional league MLS, plays an important role there and is therefore partly responsible for one of the biggest surprises in world football at the moment.
Now American influence on the Africa Cup of Nations is marginal at best. But it is true that small Cape Verde has been the surprise of the tournament so far with its courageous offensive football. Mauritania is just as astonishing as the appearance of the small island state on the African west coast. Nobody had the desert footballers from Western Sahara on their bill either. And of all people, these two teams will meet directly in the round of 16 in Abidjan on Monday (6 p.m. CET on DAZN).
Large pool of players
Moreira’s life story can be seen as an example of the composition of the Cape Verdean team squad. Born in France as the son of Cape Verdean immigrants, he played through almost all of the youth teams in his native country. At club level, the right-back played for the French clubs Rennes, Lorient and Toulouse.
When he moved to the MLS in 2021, it was also clear that the 29-year-old would no longer be enough for the French national team. So he followed the call of Cape Verde, which had been in his sights for a long time. In October 2023, in a 5-1 defeat in Algeria, Moreira made his debut for the “Blue Sharks”, as the Cape Verde national team is called.
Three months later, Moreira and colleagues are facing the greatest success of their football career: In the preliminary round, Cape Verde won against Ghana (2:1) and Mozambique (3:0), played 2:2 against Egypt and is therefore now favorite against Mauritania. Like Moreira, Cape Verde’s players come from all parts of the world. It is estimated that in addition to the half a million people who live on the nine inhabited islands about 460 kilometers off West Africa, there are just as many more scattered around the world.
From this pool, the then national coach Lucio Antunes first looked for suitable players with Cape Verdean roots in 2012. He found what he was looking for primarily in Portugal’s second and third leagues. And in 2013 he was hailed as the “Mourinho of Cape Verde” when he knocked Samuel Eto’o’s big favorites Cameroon out of the competition in the final qualifying game for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Since then, those responsible for the “Haie” have made this a part of their program: the search for players with Cape Verdean roots. The 26 players in the squad earn their money in 16 different countries – most of them still in the former colonial power Portugal. But there are also players who play in the USA, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates.
“This time it’s time”
Against Mozambique, striker Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, known as “Bebé”, scored a dream goal: the giant left winger scored with a free kick from around 40 meters. “Bebé’s” story is also one that fits well with the Cape Verde team. Born in Lisbon in 1990, the 1.90 meter tall attacker initially had a picture-perfect career.
The son of Cape Verdean immigrants moved from Vitoria Guimaraes to Manchester United in 2010 for around ten million euros via the Portugal U-21 national team. He was recommended to Alex Ferguson and was supposed to put pressure on Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov.
But “Bebé” didn’t make the breakthrough – an odyssey of loans and sales began across Europe. At United he was soon considered a classic transfer flop. Today the now 33-year-old, who has been transferred 17 times since 2010, plays for Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish La Liga. After never making it for Portugal’s senior national team, “Bebé” applied for eligibility to play for Cape Verde in 2019, for which he was able to make his debut in 2022.
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The coach is Pedro Brito Leitao, known as “Bubista”, who himself played as a defender for Cape Verde for 14 years. The 54-year-old announces: “Cape Verde has never won a knockout game at the Africa Cup of Nations. This time the time has come. We are ready for this. I know it.”
