Burela’s heart split as Spain face Cape Verde in World Cup bow | OneFootball

Burela in Lugo approaches Spain’s meeting with Cape Verde, the Africans’ World Cup debut, with a proudly split heart. Local football figure Manuel Mendes Pereira, known as Manolito, embodies a town where identities intertwine.

According to El Periódico Mediterráneo, around 10% of Burela’s 10,000-plus residents come from the Cape Verdean archipelago. The busy fishing port, renowned for northern albacore, plans a festive day around the match, and nautical charts still list the town as Burela de Cabo.

Manolito was born in 1989 to Cape Verdean parents who settled as Burela was beginning to grow. His father left Porto Mosquito on Santiago in 1978 to work on the Alúmina project, later turning to the sea, and his mother joined the family a decade later.

After a long career scoring across Lugo’s provincial pitches, he also featured for Azkar Lugo in futsal. In a region where the sport runs deep, Burela FS’s women have won six league titles and four Copas de España, and the town has supplied players to Cape Verde’s futsal team, which he says fills him with pride.

He notes a parallel in Villablino, León, home to another major Cape Verdean community that arrived for coal mining in the 1970s. It is where Valdo emerged, a Real Madrid academy product who played for Spain’s under-21s before representing Cape Verde.

He believes this World Cup could sway dual nationals who once waited for Portugal, citing Benfica prospect Sidny Lopes Cabral. With Logan Costa at Villarreal in the Champions League, and past touchstones like Stopira and Ryan Mendes, he sees a new wave building. After visiting in May, he found shirts everywhere, children excited and hopes high despite tough opposition. On Monday in Burela he plans to wear the Tubaroes Azuis jersey, with Spain and Cape Verde rivals for 90 minutes, yet a shared story binding the town.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo