The Blue Sharks- Cape Verde's Transformation

Praia, Cape Verde
June 7th, 2013



The F.C.F. have announced 35 year-old Carlos Mendes as the new manager of the Cape Verdean national team. Mendes spent twelve years playing professional football, starting with Portugal's Boavista before moving to England with then-powerful Arsenal. A crushing knee injury at age twenty-six cut his career short, and Mendes fell into a swirl of alcoholism and drug abuse after his early retirement.

Mendes recently exited a successful rehab program, and received his coaching badges in his native Portugal. He also holds Canadian citizenship.

"Mendes brings a high profile to become the face of Cabo Verde's football program. He will run a tight ship, and I think he is grateful that we gave him an opportunity to get back into football," commented F.C.F. president Mario Semedo.

When asked about heading to a poverty-stricken nation with no history of footballing success, Mendes coolly stated, "If I didn't think this country was ready to become a winner, I wouldn't have come here," before walking out, visibly perturbed by the question.

Mendes will take over a squad currently ranked 74th in the world, whose stars include Vozinha and Djaniny.

The move to bring Mendes in as a replacement of former Cape Verdean manager Beto came after a disappointing 1-nil loss against Mali, which essentially eliminated the Blue Sharks from World Cup Qualification.

Mendes' first competitive test with the pride of Cape Verde will come on October 6th, when his charges will face bottom-of-the-group Sierra Leone in a meaningless game.
---------------------------------------------------


EDIT- This is my first FM 2014 story, as well as my first international attempt. It could be a rocky ride. Any commentary much appreciated! What site do you guys use for screenshots?

Goalkeepers

Vozinha- 23 year-old playing in Angola. Has 3* PA, and will be my #1 going forward.

Fock - 30 year-old also playing in Angolan League. Being older, I may give him the Sierra Leone game before shelfing him for good.

Ernesto - Being 33 years old and unemployed by a club, Ernesto will most likely be cut from the national team. Played in the Portuguese Liga roughly a decade ago.


Defenders

Babanco - A pacey 27 year-old left back, Babanco has spent the last five seasons in Portugal's top flight, and I hope he can lead the line both defensively and offensively.

Ricardo - A 32 year-old center back riding the bench for Portugal's Pacos Ferreira, he might be my captain, though his days on the national team are numbered at his age.

Gege - Though not an ideal starter currently , Gege has some great Determination (16) and Heading (14). At age 25, he could develop into my next captain at center back.

Janicio - Not the greatest right back, but he'll get the job done. At age 33, his determination (16) alone won't keep him in the team forever.

Eder - A backup right back, the lack of squad depth shows. His marking (7) and teamwork (8) ratings make me cringe.

Helder Cabral - He will not see the green of the pitch's grass under my watch. He's not even good enough for the local semi-pro league!


Midfielders

Ryan Mendes da Graca - The exciting winger from LOSC Lille in France, age 23, will be the cornerstone of my Starting XI for the next decade.

Heldon - Contracted to Sporting Lisbon, Heldon will make sure our attack is potent on both sides of the pitch. Age 24, he will also feature in my team for quite some time!

Stenio - A 25 year-old defensive midfielder, Stenio should be a decent anchor in the center of the park.

Ericson - Another 25 year-old defensive mid, Ericson will only see the pitch if Stenio is hurt.

Cafu - A 35 year-old winger toiling in the lower divisions in Portugal, his time on the national team is just about up.

Laurindo - A 31 year-old without a club, it's scary to think he's my best option at CM.

Josi - Another deplorable CM option, Josi is 25 and uemployed, with no real qualities to speak of.

Emerson - Yet another awful CM. Only thing he has going for him is his determination (15).


Strikers

Ze Luis - A 22 year-old phenom currently in Braga's system, he looks to be our striker of the future. Let's hope he can produce in the now for the team's sake.

Djaniny - A tall, lanky 22 year-old, the Nacional da Madeira product is a set piece beast who can't do much else.

Cafu - The same tired, old Cafu from the midfield. I really need to cut him...

Praia, Cape Verde
June 29th, 2013





Make note- Cape Verde boss Carlos Mendes is not messing around in his first managerial posting. The 35 year-old Portuguese-born manager has set up a series of ambitious friendlies in his adopted nation for the coming fall.

"For me, the most important goal of this job is to grow the game, to improve the exposure of football here in Cabo Verde. By bringing in high-profile teams, with high-profile players, I hope to make football even more popular than it already is here on this barren, somewhat hopeless place," said Mendes.

The Cape Verdean fixture list this autumn initially only included their meaningless friendly with continental minnows Sierra Leone, however Mendes unveiled an ambitious series of friendlies, sponsored by national telephone provider CV Telecom.

"For me, these matches will not only bolster football's popularity here in Cabo Verde, but it will also give our national players lots of exposure. That is the key here, getting these players contracts to improve their game around the world," commented Mendes.

Praia, Cape Verde
August 27th, 2013




With their final (albeit meaningless) World Cup Qualifier with Sierra Leone and a friendly with Uruguay scheduled for next month, Mendes must submit his first-ever squad list to FIFA.

"Yes, it's a shame that two of this nation's best players are injured and can't play, but we will figure something out. This is an opportunity for youngsters to step up and fill a void," proclaimed Mendes in a small press conference yesterday. "Since I took over two and a half months ago, I've uncovered some quality players that were not in my initial squad report, such as youngsters Pecks and Nuno Rocha. They will help us greatly."

Along with newly-appointed assistant manager Zé Nando, formerly of Burkina Faso's national team, Mendes has submitted the following squad list for the Sierra Leone qualifier and Uruguay friendly:

Goalkeepers
Fock (Petro de Luanda, ANG), Vozinha (Progresso Sambizanga, ANG), Ernesto (N/A).

Defenders
Eder (San Fernando, SPA3), Babanco (Estoril, POR1), Pecks (Gil Vicente, POR1), Ricardo (P. Ferreira, POR1), Gegé (Maritimo, POR1), Kay (Belenenses, POR2), Helder Cabral (Setubal, POR1), Janicio (Covilha, POR2).

Midfielders
Stenio (Feirense, POR2), Josi (N/A), Nuno Rocha (Maritimo, POR1), Lito (Pinhalnovense, POR3), Kuca (Chaves, POR2), Laurindo (Oliveirense, POR3), Helder Tavares (Beira Mar, POR2), Emerson (Varzim, POR3).

Strikers
Brito (Estoril, POR1), Ze Luis (Videoton, HUN1), Kukula (Maritimo, POR1), Rambé (Belenenses, POR2).

Very good start, mate, your writing is really good! Cape Verde is an interesting pick of a team, hopefully you can lead them to glory!

Braga, Portugal
Sept. 2nd, 2013




Just five days before his first competitive match as Cape Verde boss, manager Carlos Mendes faces a huge injury to his Starting XI.

Braga's Ze Luis, expected to start up front in Cape Verde's qualifier with Sierra Leone in five days' time, broke his nose on an aerial challenge tonight against Olhanense.

He is expected to miss 2-3 weeks, which rules him out for the Uruguay friendly as well. "It hurts, because I wanted to face one of the best teams in the world in Uruguay, I wanted to prove I can play at that level. Now I can't :(" he tweeted out after getting the diagnosis.

Also injured in his final club match before the international break was center back Gegé, who severely cut his leg in Maritimo's 3-1 loss at Benfica last night.

Mendes chose not to replace the players, and is expected to start Belenenses' Rambé in place of Zé Luis as a striker against Sierra Leone.

Praia, Cape Verde
August 6th, 2013




It wasn't pretty, but the little nation that could managed to grab a result against a tough Namibia U20 squad.

Seventeen year-old Aladino Soares brought the home crowd to its feet in the 17th minute, when he put home a poorly-spilled rebound to give Cape Verde a 1-nil lead.

The Namibians tied the match in the 36th minute, when Joseph Kambile's through ball found Ronnie Kambonde, who calmly slotted home and silenced the crowd.

Kambonde then picked up his second the match just after the restart. He picked up a long goal kick in the 47th minute, sprinted through the Cape Verdean defenders, and rifled a shot off the crossbar and in, giving the visitors from Namibia a 2-1 lead.

The hosts would tie things up in the 57th minute, when Alison Ribeiro buried Jimmy's rebound, bringing the massive crowd to its feet.

Namibia pressed the entire final half hour, but could not break down the hosts' defensive 5-3-2, and the match ended in a draw.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, excitement is building ahead of tomorrow's Sierra Leone v. Cape Verde match. Thousands are expected to turn out in Praia's main square for a televised broadcast on a large HD screen, as newly-minted manager Carlos Mendes makes his competitive debut.

His squad selection was heavily criticized, as he omitted many long-time national team mainstays. That being said, many are still behind him:


"Futbol is everything here in Cabo Verde. Senhor Mendes is going to do a great job and lead us to continental and international glory!" - Guilherme da Souza

"Futbol unites us. In poverty, in sickness, in despair. It is the one thing that binds our rag-tag country together. Senhor Mendes must maintain our country's footballing tradition- we must be competitive! Anything less than a victory against an inferior Sierra Leone tomorrow will be a massive disappointment!!!" - Fredy Goncalves

"Futbol is all we have in Cabo Verde. The national team, it is like our extended family. They represent our small, respectable nation on the world stage, and we hope they can crush those ******** from Sierra Leone tomorrow!" - Miguel Moura


With the entire nation watching, will Mendes' injury-plagued squad be able to pull out the three points? Despite being virtually meaningless in the group table with both teams already mathematically eliminated from advancing to the CAF Third Qualifying Round, the dreams and hopes of a nation are lying squarely on the slightly-obese shoulders of a former Portuguese star...

Tomorrow's match will kick off at 7:30 local time in Freetown, Sierra Leone. 25000 of 36000 tickets have reportedly been sold, and the referee will be Souleymane Moussa, of Algeria.

September 7th, 2013



Welcome to Freetown, Sierra Leone today for our ESPN MatchCentre online coverage of an African World Cup Qualifier between hosts Sierra Leone and Cape Verde.

Today marks the competitive debut of Cape Verde manager Carlos Mendes, whose post-retirement struggle with substance abuse has been well-documented. We here at ESPN would like to congratulate him on his sobriety as well as his new post with Cape Verde, and wish him all the best.

As this isn't a particularly important match, it will just be me, Aurélien Tchoumi, of the African Football Post, describing the match for you today.

Let's take a quick look at how Mendes will set up his new charges today-


This is a significantly-weakened Cape Verde squad, without the likes of Djaniny and Zé Luis up front, and without the somehow-forgotten Ryan Mendes da Graca, who is reportedly furious over not being called up for this international fixture. Mendes will play a 4-5-1, and told me that he wants his team to really float their crosses and use their flanks. Expect an attacking game from the more-talented visitors.

As for Sierra Leone, they'll play a deeper version of the 4-5-1, featuring three defensive midfielders!

I predict a run-away victory for Cape Verde, they're a far superior team. We may even see a cricket score!

Kick-off in ten minutes...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1' - Sierra Leone kick off, and a solid crowd of twenty-nine thousand settles into their (rusty) seats here at the National Stadium in Freetown for what promises to be an intriguing match.

7' - Sierra Leone's striker Kamara played a through ball looking for Adoplh Bah, only a last-ditch sliding tackle from Helder Cabral stopped the hosts' attack!

8' - Back the other way, here come Cape Verde! Babanco rifled a shot from forty yards out, successfully chipping Sierra Leone goalkeeper Alpha Kagbo, but the shot bounced off the top of the crossbar and out of play- so close from the visitors!

15' - Great opportunity yet again for the visitors, as Josi sent a long ball down the left flank. Babanco beat his defender to it, and cracked a long shot towards goal, which was tipped just wide by Kagbo for a Cape Verde corner.

16' - Off of Babanco's corner, Pecks heads the ball INCHES over the bar! The visitors from Cape Verde are bustling here!

23' - Close from Sierra Leone, as Bah's header is cleared off of the goal line by Ricardo. Key defensive play from the veteran Cape Verdean center back.

41' - The hosts have the first chance in quite a while, as Kanu floats a cross into the 6-yard box, only to have it collected safely by Vozinho, the Cape Verdean keeper.

42' - The visitors counter quickly, with Kuca sprinting down the right flank before crossing to the middle. Cross was cleared only as far as Laurindo, who launched a strike from 25 yards out, only to be denied spectacularly by Kagbo.

HT - Still scoreless here in Freetown, with Cape Verde having had the better chances in the first half. Three changes for Carlos Mendes' men, as Rambé replaces Brito up front, Vozinha is replaced by Fock in goal, and an injured Eder is replaced by Janicio. Cape Verde have come out more attacking.

53' - Nearly an opener for the hosts! Off of a Sierra Leone corner, Mohamed Kamara elevated himself above Pecks and headed the ball crisply wide. Very close from the hosts!

55' - Babanco paced down the wing for the visitors, only to have his shot deflected all the way to center, from where Ricardo's long ball found Kuca. Kuca then rang a shot off the goalpost, but it wouldn't have counted anyways as he had wandered into an offside position.

58' - SO close from the hosts! Bah was sprung on a long ball over the top of the Cape Verde defenders, but Fock made an excellent fingertip save to send the ball wide. It's been a much better half for Sierra Leone thus far.

61' - Laurindo has picked himself up a yellow card for Cape Verde, after lightly bumping with Lansana Bundu just outside of the Cape Verde 18-yard box. Definitely a hint of embellishment from the Sierra Leonese midfielder. Free kick from a dangerous now for Bundu...

61' - Bundu's free kick calmly collected by Fock, Bundu will have wanted to do better with that opportunity.

63' - A lightning-quick counter from Babanco has forced a Cape Verdean corner kick.

63' - The corner is headed wide by Pecks. Goal kick.

66' - Bundu's corner for Sierra Leone is headed well over the crossbar by Mohamed Sesay. Definitely has not been the finest finishing on display so far tonight in Freetown...

71' - The visitors surely had broken the deadlock there! Pecks' through ball found Babanco, who has been all over the pitch for Cape Verde today, but Babanco's lobbed effort only grazed the top of the crossbar.

79' - IT'S A GOAL FOR THE HOSTS! Mohammed Sesay was allowed to waltz into the Cape Verde box from the left side, unchallenged, before sliding a pass crisply to the back post, where Ahmed Sankoh slotted home into a virtually empty net. No chance for Fock, and the hosts have taken what isn't really that surprising a lead, considering how dominant they've been in the second half.

90+1' - Unbelievably close from the visitors! Kuca found Helder Cabral down the right flank, and he squared it to the edge of the 18-yard box for Josi. Josi one-timed the pass OFF THE CROSSBAR and out of play for a throw-in.

90+3' - That's fulltime from Freetown, as Sierra Leone stun their visitors from Cape Verde with a 1-0 victory on the strength of Ahmed Sankoh's first international goal!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------


"Jacques Cousineau, La Presse France. What went wrong today Monsieur Mendes? Your squad should be crushing minnows like Sierra Leone!"

"Well Jacques, it's quite simple really. On the day, we were outplayed. Sierra Leone outshot us 15-11, and it's hard to win a match when you only get four shots on target. I hate to make excuses, but we were missing three of our best players- Djaniny, Ze Luis and Gegé.

"Monsieur Mendes, what about Ryan Mendes da Graca? He is a starter for one of the French league's top teams, Lille, and was expected to be a cornerstone of this team!"

"Ryan and I had a gentleman's disagreement, and since he is young, and I plan on being Cape Verde's manager for quite some time, I figured I would set him straight. Hopefully he got the message by me not picking him for this set of fixtures."

"Bertrand Alaba, West Africa Daily. Are you afraid for your job security after this loss?"

"Absolutely not. The Cape Verde federation has instilled their confidence in me, and one loss in a, forgive me, meaningless qualifier does not spell trouble in my books. In my short time in charge, I've discovered tons of Cape Verdean players playing in Portugal's lower leagues, who will make an impact. I've brought in the likes of Uruguay and Algeria for friendlies, something never before fathomed in a place like Cape Verde! I believe in this country, and this team! (Storms out of press conference)

Praia, Cape Verde
September 10th, 2013




Hello and welcome to the Estadio da Varzea, home of the Cape Verde Islands national team. Today we'll be bringing you some exciting live online match coverage of the friendly between Uruguay and Cape Verde.

Many pundits and media members expressed shock that a team as highly-ranked as Uruguay, who currently sit 3rd in the FIFA Rankings, would pay a visit to a team as impoverished and bad as Cape Verde. Regardless, Uruguay is here and ready to take care of business against a massively inferior Cape Verdean selection.

Regardless of their poor form, Cape Verdean striker Brito warned Uruguay they should not be complacent ahead of today's match. "Yes, we are hurting and tired from our last match three days ago, but we are still a very proud nation. We believe in our manager and he believes in us, so great things are possible," he said at the pre-game press conference.

Here is how the heavy underdog hosts will set up today against their South American visitors:

Cabo Verde (4-5-1)
GK - Fock
LB - Helder Cabral
CB - Ricardo (C)
CB - Kay
RB - Janicio
CDM - Sténio
CM - Nuno Rocha
CM - Laurindo
LW - Babanco
RW - Kuca
ST - Brito

As you can see, it's definitely not a full-strength Cape Verde squad. Missing are center back Pecks (injured), right back Eder (injured), and Ryan Mendes da Graca (uncalled)).

They'll face a seemingly insurmountable task today, as they attempt to shut down Uruguay-

Uruguay (4-1-2-1-2)
GK - Muslera
LB - A. Pereira
CB - Abascal
CB - Godin
RB - M. Pereira (C)
CDM - Kagelmacher
CM - A. Gonzalez
CM - Gargano
CAM - Nicolas Lodeiro
LS - Suarez
RS - Cavani

It's nearly a full-strength squad for Oscar Tabarez, and he opts for a 4-1-2-1-2 in the hope of dominating the middle of the pitch.

Without further ado, let's get this match underway!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

1' - Suarez tips the ball to Cavani, and we are underway here in Cape Verde! Many people don't believe these two teams should even be on the same pitch, and one has to wonder how on earth a squad that lost to Sierra Leone is going to be able to compete with the third best team in the world!

2' - Already a goal for the Uruguayans! Suarez tapped the ball into space on the right flank, and Maxi Pereira raced to the ball before crossing squarely onto the over-sized forehead of Edinson Cavani. Cavani beat a helpless Fock, only to have his goal called back by the linesman due to an offside. So close from the visitors early!

41' - It's been a mighty stifling half from the Cape Verdean defense, but Uruguay nearly bulged the netting there! Suarez passed into Lodeiro at the top of the 18 yard-box, and he slotted a nice through ball for Cavani, whose one-timed effort was spectacularly denied by Fock.

HT - Surprisingly, the hosts have made it to halftime drawn nil-nil with their superior visitors. Despite being outshot 14-3 by Uruguay, the Cape Verdeans have held their own by cramming their defensive 18-yard box with up to nine players. Seems like only a matter of time before Uruguay break through, though.

46' - IT'S THERE FOR THE VISITORS! Maxi Pereira played a beautiful ball through the heart of the Cape Verdean defence, and it was the halftime substitute, Emiliano Alfaro, who blasted an absolute screamer towards the hosts' net. Fock got a fignertip to it, but the shot was always destined for the back of the net. Deserving 1-nil lead for Uruguay.

48' - Nearly a second for Uruguay! Alvaro Gonzalez's blast from 30 yards out struck the inside of the post, and Luis Suarez was tripped up as he tried to knock in the rebound. Surprisingly no penalty call from the Algerian referee, and somehow the ball stayed out.

53' - The Uruguayans come to life! Cristian Rodriguez sprints past Kay before unleashing a screamer that was destined for the top corner- until Fock made another spectacular save!

66' - A second for the visitors! Luis Suarez expertly took down a high ball, whilst running, from Cristian Rodriguez, before pacing past the last defender and beating an off-angle Fock. Two-nil Uruguay.

69' - An incredible sequence for the hosts! Babanco's initial shot was spilled by Muslera, and off of the ensuing corner the Blue Sharks had no less than four quality shooting opportunities. All of which were squandered by the likes of Nuno Rocha and Laurindo. Still, it's brought the capacity crowd to its feet at the promise of a home goal.

76' - It's a third for Uruguay! Urreta finishes after a lovely ball from Suarez, and this one is all over in Praia. The Benfica man put home a sweet finish after a beautiful pass from Luis Suaaaaarez.

82' - The hosts strike back! Brito finishes off a beautiful passing play! The play originated with Nuno Rocha in the midfield, who passed it to the left flank for Helder Cabral. Cabral then cut to the middle, slotted through for Brito, and the Estoril striker made no mistake! The crowd is on its feet here in Praia!!!

90+1 - That's full-time from Praia, where Cape Verde put in a strong showing against an always-superior Uruguay squad. Despite being outshot 30-10, the hosts passed the ball around quite well in the midfield, and the obvious bright spots are Brito, who picked up his first international goal for the hosts, and Fock, who made eight quality saves on eleven Uruguayan shots on target.

-----------------------------------------------------

Mendes' Notebook

I thought we played quite well against a team we had no business even competing with. While this match did remind me just how far this national program has to go to become a continental, let alone a world, football power. It was great to see Brito bury his first international goal, I'll never forget that overjoyed smile as he celebrated in front of his family behind the Uruguay net.

Not a bad result, and certainly more pleasing than the one-nil loss against Sierra Leone.

Once we get healthy, and Ryan Mendes da Graca is mature enough to garner a call-up, we can be worldbeaters!

#ForcaCaboVerde

Other friendly results from Sep. 10th-

(I plan to do small updates on the rest of the international scene, England, and Portugal)



Spain 2:0 Brazil
Jordi Alba and Fernando Llorente scored twice in four minutes, early in the first half to power the hosts past a young, feisty Brazilian squad.

South Africa 1:0 Japan
A slightly surprising result, Bafana Bafana capitalized on a Keisuke Honda own goal to pull out the victory, despite getting outshot 27-4 by the Japanese.

Algeria 6:0 Burundi
Porto's man Nabil Ghilas powered the Algerians to a comfortable victory against a weak Burundi side, netting a hat trick in front of 34000 strong at Blida's National Stadium.

Australia 2:1 Tunisia
The hosts won thanks to Bobby Kruse and Tim Cahill, who both scored in injury time to salvage what was in truth a forgettable match for the hosts, as Tunisia outshot them 24-7.

Guam 0:5 Qatar
The 2020 World Cup hosts continue to show their dominance over tiny islands, as they destroy another WORLD CUP CALIBRE opponent in front of a crowd of.........923. Great choice, FIFA.

---------------------------------------------------------

FIFA World Rankings - Sept. 22nd

1. Spain
2. Argentina
3. Germany
-------------
67. Saudi Arabia (+1)
68. CAPE VERDE ISLANDS (-5)
69. New Zealand (-1)

Biggest improvement- Sierra Leone - 17 spots - 100th to 83rd
Biggest drop - Zimbabwe - 11 spots - 101st to 113th