In early 2022, Bebe eagerly answered the phone call that every footballer dreams of receiving. At the ripe old age of 31 and despite having never represented a senior national team, the Portugal-born wing wizard was handed a shot at gracing the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
However, for that dream to become a reality, the stars would have to align and then some. The first step, switching international allegiance, would be straightforward enough. However, the chances of his adopted nation, Cabo Verde, lining up on the greatest stage of all seemingly presented a far bigger stumbling block.
Bebe debuted for the islanders in March 2022, and the odds-defying African outfit kept their side of the bargain by punching their ticket to the global showpiece last October. So far so good. However, the seasoned schemer failed to make the cut in the 26-man squad announced by Bubista for the North American extravaganza last week.
Despite that setback, the Lisbon-born livewire still considers his national-team story to have been a resounding success. Every word that he utters exudes genuine pride for the Atlantic Ocean archipelago where his parents were born, and he warns all comers that the Blue Sharks are riding the crest of a wave and will be out to make a splash when they migrate stateside.
Bebe, whose childhood dreams involved him running out at the World Cup sporting a Portuguese shirt, knows better than most about the hard yards required to grace football’s top table. “I represented Portugal at U-20 and U-21 levels, but I didn’t quite make the grade for the senior team. I’m of Cabo Verdean descent, and when I got the call, I didn’t think twice about it,” he told FIFA.
Having forged a strong connection with his folks’ homeland, the fleet-footed flanker needed no introduction to the island nation. “I didn’t have the easiest of upbringings, but Cabo Verde was a constant. At home, we spoke [Cabo Verdean] Creole. My whole family – my parents, their siblings and my grandparents – were born in Cabo Verde. I’ve been surrounded by the culture since a young age: the food, the music and the zest that us Africans have for life.
“I was born in Portugal, but it’s a world away from Cabo Verde, which is part of who I am,” revealed the free-kick specialist, whose omission from the World Cup squad does not perhaps come as a huge surprise given that he was only called up for four of the island nation’s ten qualifiers.
Fond Manchester United memories
Bebe’s route into international football is far from being an isolated case in the Cabo Verdean ranks, with the game’s governing body in the country having sought to draw on the diaspora in a bid to engineer an upturn in fortunes.
He upped sticks from his native Portugal as a fresh-faced 20-year-old after landing a dream move to Manchester United, who were led by the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at the time.
“Although I found minutes hard to come by, I learnt a great deal from working with those world-class players. Right from day one, the gaffer was a massive help,” recalled the wideman, who made just seven first-team appearances for the Red Devils in the 2010/11 campaign before becoming a loan ranger at Turkish titans Beşiktaş and back home with Rio Ave and Paços de Ferreira.
“He gave me a lot of advice, which, with the benefit of experience, I now understand much better. We all had massive respect for him. He’s a special man, and despite the fact he may come across as a hard taskmaster, he was ever so approachable.”
The silky speedster failed to live up to his billing as a future gem during his troubled time at Old Trafford, with the underwhelming stint seriously denting his hopes of dazzling for the Seleção das Quinas. He swapped the Premier League powerhouses for Benfica in July 2014 before going on to ply his trade for a number of Spanish top-flight and second-tier sides.
When the Cabo Verdean Football Association came calling, he did not give it as much as a second thought: “Not only do I have no regrets about representing Cabo Verde, but I wish I’d made the decision earlier.”
The momentous phone call from the powers that be at the national association gave Bebe a fresh link to his roots and a means of delving deeper into his past. “I’ve got to know loads of players, have made new friends and have met more relatives on both sides of the family. What’s more, I’ve been able to really get to know the country, which is so pretty and really interesting,” he enthused.
Two-way learning process
Standout performers like Bebe, who bring invaluable experience of European football to the table, have enabled Cabo Verde to considerably up their game. Indeed, without the presence of seasoned stars of his ilk, the road to the World Cup would no doubt have been far bumpier for Bubista’s boys.
“We have a number of players who play their club football in Europe, Qatar and the United States, and that’s a big factor. I think I did my bit, both on the pitch and in and around the group. Other players have followed my lead in turning out for the national team, for which there is now greater respect, and others have considered joining up. I hope this trend continues, because the Cabo Verdeans deserve a taste of the joy football can bring,” said the attacker, who strutted his stuff for Spanish third-rung outfit Ibiza in the recently concluded campaign.
When Bebe made his national-team debut in March 2022, the prospect of lining up at FIFA’s flagship men’s competition was nothing more than a pipe dream. All 54 FIFA Member Associations from the CAF region entered qualifying for this year’s edition, and although the tournament’s expanded 48-team format meant there were ten places up for grabs (up from the previous five), the competition remained fierce.
“Getting to the World Cup was so tough, let’s make no bones about it. The fact that we were competing in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers at the same time made it all the more challenging. There were so many countries involved, and we had to contend with all the travel, the heat and the different kinds of food. We didn’t think we’d be in with a chance, but as the campaign wore on, we said to ourselves: ‘It won’t be easy, but it’s in our hands.’ Our qualification was richly deserved.”
Underdogs with plenty of bite
For those who have not had the pleasure of admiring the Blue Sharks and their predatory instincts in action, Bebe is perfectly placed to provide an insight into the side’s on-field set-up. “We’re defensively strong and form a tight unit. As a team, we pose a real threat on the counter. We defend well and then look to break out quickly down the flanks. Up top, we’ve got players who are good in 1v1 situations. That’s how the team are likely to approach things at the World Cup.”
The islanders have been drawn in Group H, in which they will kick their campaign off against the swaggering Spanish. That showdown promises to be particularly significant for Bebe, who has spent the lion’s share of his career in the Iberian nation. The CAF representatives will then pit their wits against two-time winners Uruguay before closing out their group-stage campaign against AFC aces Saudi Arabia.
Although fully aware that the Cabo Verdeans are far from favourites to progress from the group, Bebe believes that the team will relish the underdogs tag.
“We might be a tiny country, but we’ll be no pushovers. We’ll be going there to compete, and I have no doubt that we’ll do just that,” he says. “It’s all about enjoying the experience and just taking things match by match and one training session at a time. There’ll be plenty of quality on show. We’re talking about the World Cup here, and given that you’re there on merit, you have every right to shoot for the stars.”
