Roberto Lopes (footballer, born 1992)

Roberto Lopes
Lopes with Shamrock Rovers in 2025
Personal information
Full name Roberto Carlos Lopes
Date of birth (1992-06-17) 17 June 1992
Place of birth Crumlin, Ireland
Position Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Shamrock Rovers
Number 4
Youth career
Lourdes Celtic
Home Farm
Belvedere
Bohemians
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2016 Bohemians 140 (3)
2017– Shamrock Rovers 252 (18)
International career‡
2011 Republic of Ireland U19 1 (0)
2019– Cape Verde 42 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16:38, 28 October 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 16:38, 28 October 2025 (UTC)

Roberto Carlos Lopes (born 17 June 1992), also known as Pico,[1] is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Shamrock Rovers.[1] Born in Ireland, he represents the Cape Verde national team.

Club career

Shamrock Rovers

In November 2016 Lopes joined Shamrock Rovers after leaving rivals Bohemian F.C.[2]

During the 2019 FAI Cup, Lopes played for Rovers in the final. Rovers defeated Dundalk F.C. on penalties – winning the cup for the first time since 1987 and for a record 25th time.[3] In 2020, Lopes was a member of the Shamrock Rovers squad that won the League of Ireland title for a record 18th time.

International career

Lopes was born in Ireland to a Cape Verdean father and Irish mother.[4] He made one appearance for the Republic of Ireland's under 19 squad in 2011.[5] Lopes made his international debut for the Cape Verde national team in a 2–0 friendly win over Togo in 2019.[6]

He was included in Cape Verde's squad for the delayed 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.[7][8]

He was part of the Cape Verdean squad under manager Bubista in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, where the nation made an extraordinary run to the quarter finals.

In October 2025, Lopes was part of the Cape Verdean team that qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a 3-0 win against Eswatini. In doing so, Lopes became the first ever League of Ireland player to qualify for the World Cup.[9][10]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played on 26 October 2025[11]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FAI Cup League of Ireland Cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bohemians 2010 LOI Premier Division 0 0 1 0 0 0 0[a] 0 0[b] 0 1 0
2011 3 0 0 0 1 0 0[c] 0 4[d] 0 8 0
2012 15 0 3 1 0 0 0[c] 0 3[e] 0 21 1
2013 30 1 1 0 3 0 — 0[f] 0 34 1
2014 30 0 3 0 3 0 — 1[f] 0 37 0
2015 31 0 2 0 2 0 — 2[f] 0 37 0
2016 31 2 2 0 2 0 — 3[f] 2 38 4
Total 140 3 12 1 11 0 0 0 13 2 176 6
Shamrock Rovers 2017 LOI Premier Division 25 1 4 0 3 0 4[c] 0 0[f] 0 35 1
2018 29 4 1 0 0 0 2[c] 0 0[f] 0 32 4
2019 35 3 5 0 1 0 4[c] 2 0 0 45 5
2020 15 3 3 1 — 2[c] 1 — 21 5
2021 27 1 2 0 — 6[g] 0 1[h] 0 36 1
2022 27 1 0 0 — 7[i] 0 0[h] 0 34 1
2023 31 2 1 0 — 4[j] 0 1[f] 0 37 2
2024 33 1 1 0 — 14[k] 0 0[h] 0 48 1
2025 32 2 3 0 — 10[l] 0 0[f] 0 45 2
Total 254 18 20 1 4 0 53 3 2 0 330 22
Career total 394 21 32 2 15 0 53 3 15 2 506 28
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in the UEFA Champions League
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in the Setanta Sports Cup & Leinster Senior Cup
  3. ^ a b c d e f Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ 3 appearances in the Leinster Senior Cup; 1 appearance in the Setanta Sports Cup
  5. ^ Appearance(s) in the Setanta Sports Cup
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Appearance(s) in the Leinster Senior Cup
  7. ^ 2 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 4 appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
  8. ^ a b c Appearance in the President of Ireland's Cup
  9. ^ 3 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 4 appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
  10. ^ 2 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 2 appearances in the UEFA Europa Conference League
  11. ^ 4 appearances in the UEFA Champions League; 4 appearances in the UEFA Europa League; 6 appearances in the UEFA Conference League
  12. ^ 2 appearances in the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League campaign; 8 appearances in the 2025–26 UEFA Conference League campaign

International

As of matches played 13 October 2025[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cape Verde 2019 1 0
2020 0 0
2021 7 0
2022 7 0
2023 8 0
2024 13 0
2025 6 0
Total 42 0


Honours

Shamrock Rovers

Bohemians

Individual

References

  1. ^ a b "Roberto Lopes". Shamrock Rovers. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Shamrock Rovers sign Corry, Connolly, Lopes & Devine | Goal.com". www.goal.com.
  3. ^ "Shamrock Rovers lift FAI Cup after shootout win | Football Association of Ireland". www.fai.ie.
  4. ^ Petrie, Richard (14 October 2025). "Roberto Lopes: World Cup-bound Cape Verde defender relishing his week to remember". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Lopes set for Afcon after call-up via LinkedIn". BBC Sport.
  6. ^ "Cape Verde 2–0 Togo". ESPN. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Group a rivals name squads for Afcon". BBC Sport.
  8. ^ "'It's a special moment for me' – Dubliner Roberto Lopes hoping for more AFCON success after opening win". Irish Independent. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Delight for Pico Lopes as Cape Verde qualify for World Cup". RTE Sport. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  10. ^ "'I'm probably the luckiest person in the world' - Pico Lopes on Cape Verde's 2026 World Cup qualification". RTE Sport. 13 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  11. ^ Roberto Lopes at Soccerway. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  12. ^ Roberto Lopes at National-Football-Teams.com
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