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Two Cape Verde international football players in action by Xavier Rondón Medina –

Top 10 Cape Verde Football (Soccer) Players of All Time

Cape Verde, officially known as the Republic of Cabo Verde is a small island country in the central Atlantic. Cape Verde is represented by the Cape Verde national football team in men’s international association football (Soccer to some).

The team is managed and controlled by the Cape Verdean Football Federation. Cape Verde is currently ranked at position 73 in the FIFA rankings as of 2022. The country has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup Finals in its history.

They have however qualified and participated in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournaments. That is in 2013, 2015, and the recent 2021 installation of the tournament. In 2013, Cape Verde reached the

Cape Verde is not the most successful international team. However, this does not mean the country is short of top professional players. This article will identify ten of the best footballers from Cape Verde. Enjoy!

1. Héldon Ramos

Footballer Heldon Ramos by Roi González Villa (Vivaelcelta) –

Born on 14^th November 1988, Héldon Augusto Almeida Ramos is an attacking midfielder from Cape Verde. Currently playing for Al-Orobah FC, he spent most of his career in Portugal where he played for Maritima, Sporting CP, and Vitoria Guimaraes.

From Portugal, he moved to the Middle East where he has played for Al Taawoun, Shaba Al Ahli, and currently Al-Orobah. He made his international debut for Cape Verde on 11^th October 2008. Since then, he has made 52 appearances and scored 15 goals.

He has participated in two AFCON tournaments missing out on Cape Verde’s 2021 campaign.

2. Caló

Caló, full name Carlos Pedro Silva Morais is a retired professional footballer from Cape Verde. He played as a left winger.

He played in Portugal for S.C. Salgueiros before moving to Qatar where he represented Al-Ahli and Al-Shamaal. In 2010 and 2011, he played for Santa Maria FC and Sporting Praia FC both in Cape Verde.

He made his international debut for Cape Verde in 1998. His international career lasted for 9 years, making 24 appearances and scoring 10 goals.

3. Ryan Mendes

Above is Ryan Mendes playing for LOSC Lille by Liondartois –

Ryan Isaac Mendes da Graça is a professional footballer from Cape Verde. Born on 8^th January 1990, Mendes represents Cape Verde internationally and is currently at Al-Nasr FC.

His footballing career began in France where he played for Le Havre and then European giants Lille. After Lille, he played for European champions Nottingham Forest before moving to Kayserispor in Turkey. After his stint in Turkey, he moved to the UAE where he played for Sharjah and now Al-Nasr.

 Mendes has 55 caps for Cape Verde finding the net 12 times since making his international debut in 2010. He has played in all three Cape Verde AFCON campaigns.

4. Júlio Tavares

Julio is a strike for the Cape Verde national team and currently plays for Al-Raed in the Saudi Professional League. His Career started French club Bourg-Péronnas before he moved to Dijon where he spent 8 years scoring 69 goals in 243 appearances.

He then moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020 where he played for Al-Faisaly and moved to Al-Raed in 2020. Julio made his international debut in 2012 and has made 48 appearances since, scoring 8 times.

5. Zé Luís

Ze Luis in action for Spartak Moscow VS. Anzi 11 august 2018 by Edgar Breschanov –

José Luís Mendes Andrade is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a striker. Born in 1991, the 31-year-old has made 10 appearances for Cape Verde scoring three goals since his 2010 debut.

He missed Cape Verde’s 2013 AFCON campaign due to personal reasons despite getting a call-up. Luis’ career hasn’t been the most glamorous. However, his club career has seen him play for top European clubs in Russia and Portugal.

 In Portugal, he played for Gil Vicente, Braga, and Porto winning the local double with the latter. In Russia, he played for both Lokomotiv Moscow and Spartak Moscow.

6. Babanco

Elvis Manuel Monteiro Macedo, popularly known as Babanco is a Cape Verdean professional footballer. He currently plays for the Portuguese club U.D. Leiria as a midfielder.

Babanco played for Cape Verde from 2007 to 2019. He made 62 appearances in this period and scored 5 goals. To date, he holds the record for the number of appearances for the Cape Verde national team.

Babanco played in both the 2013 and 2015 AFCON campaigns. He played in the Primeira Liga with Olhanense, Estoril, and Feirense for the majority of his career, totaling 150 appearances.

7. Vozinha

Vozinha is the nickname given to Josimar Dias, a Cape Verdean goalkeeper. He currently plays for AS Trencin in the Fortuna Liga in Slovakia.

Vozinha’s club career has seen him play for clubs in Cyprus, Portugal, Moldova, Angola, and Cape Verde. On the International level, he made his debut in 2012 and has made 56 appearances between the sticks for his home country.

Vozinha played in all three of Cape Verde’s campaigns at the AFCON finals. At age 36, Vozinha is the second most capped player for Cape Verde second to Babanco. He is set to break Babanco’s record since Babanco already retired from international football.

8. Stopira

Stopira by Vyacheslav Evdokimov –

Commonly referred to as Stopira, Ianique dos Santos Tavares is a Cape Verdean Left-back. He plays for the Cape Verde national team having made his debut in 2007. In this period, Stopira scored three goals.

The nickname Stopira is in honor of former French international Yannick Stopyra. His first goal for Cape Verde came in 2019 during AFCON qualifiers against Tanzania.

9. Gilson Tavares

A freekick in a soccer match by Luis MGB from

Gilson Benchimol Tavares was born on 29^th December 2001. He is forward playing club football in Portugal at Estoril.

At 20 years of age, Tavares made his international debut for Cape Verde. His debut came in 2020 on 1oth October against Guinea. On 25^th March, he scored a hattrick for his country against Liechtenstein.

Tavares is young and despite minimal appearances at the club level, he has managed to impress internationally. Cape Verde fans should be excited for the future especially since Tavares is part of the team’s future.

10. ±Ê²¹±è²¹±ôé±ôé

Hélio Alberto Delgado Silva nicknamed ±Ê²¹±è²¹±ôé±ôé is a professional footballer currently playing as a forward for Montalegre in Portugal. The 24-year-old made his debut in 2019 and has two goals in 4 appearances.

±Ê²¹±è²¹±ôé±ôé is one among a group of young and exciting players who will surely be future stars for the Cape Verde national team.