Ask around Dordrecht, in the Netherlands, about Josimar Lima, the Al Shaab central defender recently embarked on a new adventure in the Arabian Gulf League, and, sooner or later, mention will be made of the goal.
Because of his position on the field, Josimar does not score frequently but the goal he struck against Feyenoord late in the pre-season of 2012/13 had the mark of an accomplished finisher: a spectacular bicycle-kick, spontaneous and the sweeter for being struck in front of a good number of Feyenoord fans, some of whom remembered Josimar as once having been one of their own.
Al Shaab’s swoop for the first Cape Verde international to perform in the UAE’s professional structures sets a small landmark in an increasingly cosmopolitan league and reflects Cape Verde’s sudden, recent rise in profile as a national team.
But what Al Shaab have acquired is a defender from the Dutch school, with the sound technical standards that implies.
Like many Cape Verdeans and most of those who play in the national squad, Josimar grew up away from his native, Atlantic islands.
He was born in Sao Vicente, the second most populated of the islands, and his parents emigrated to the Netherlands when he was a child. They settled in Rotterdam, home to more than 20,000 Cape Verdeans.
Tall and strong, he asserted his promise on the inner-city pitches of the port city. By his early teens he was enrolled at the Varkenoord academy run by Feyenoord and their sister club, Excelsior.
Leroy Fer, the Dutch international who is with Norwich City in the English Premier League, was one of his contemporaries.
It was a competitive hothouse and many of those with the talent to make it as professionals would advance their careers elsewhere in Holland.
Josimar did so at Willem II, in Tilburg, first through their U19 and feeder sides. There, he caught the eye of the Dutch Federation and was called up for the Holland U19 teams for a series of European championship qualifiers.
At that stage, it was no major problem to say yes to the Netherlands. In 2007, a young aspiring player in a position to choose between Holland and Cape Verde was a matter of weighing up the merits of a nation ranked in the world’s top 10 and one only just in Fifa’s top 80. At that stage Cape Verde had never qualified for a major international tournament.
Playing for Holland would also become a tougher target as Josimar reached the end of his teens.
His progress plateaued. After he was promoted to the senior Willem II squad, he revealed his impatience with the number of matchdays he spent on the bench.
He made his debut in Dutch football’s top flight, the Eredivisie, in the 2009/10 season, but had only a handful of appearances in 2010/11. It was time to move on.
Dordrecht, of the second tier, made a bid and he established himself as a regular, a calm, poised centre-half.
His international career would meanwhile get an unexpected boost. The Cape Verde Football Federation launched a wholesale upgrade of their ambitions and set about exploiting the talent pool dotted around the Cape Verdean diaspora.
The Netherlands was a natural place to look and Josimar was one of a clutch of professionals at Dutch clubs, eligible to represent the country of his parents’ birth, who said yes to a future with the “Blue Sharks”.
As to whether he would show sufficient pride in his roots, Josimar’s new teammates needed only to look at the tattoo spread across his torso, where the distinctly Cape Verdean family names, “Silva Lima” feature large and proud.
“He’s a cool guy,” says his international roommate, Ronny Souto.
With their expat brigade, in 2012 Cape Verde qualified for their first African Cup of Nations, knocking out Cameroon on the way.
Last January, Josimar was in the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the tournament in South Africa, although not as a starter, his position filled by the now-retired Fernando Neves. The fairytale might then have taken Josimar and his compatriots to this summer’s World Cup but for confusion over the eligibility of midfielder Fernando Varela for their qualifier against Tunisia, the penultimate hurdle to reaching Brazil. Varela was found to have played in that match despite being suspended and Cape Verde were disqualified.
Josimar, at 24, will have further chances to aid Africa’s most up-and-coming national team. He will hope, at club level, his latest move also proves a career springboard.
Dordrecht are chasing promotion to the Eredivisie and they were sad to see him quit that run mid-season.
“I wish him luck and hope he progresses,” said Marco Boogers, the Dordrecht technical director on the player’s January departure.
“We had expected bids for Josi, because he’s a good young player.”
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