Three months after his World Cup breakthrough, Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha says the noise around his name has become harder to live with than he expected.
A World Cup rise that changed everything
The 40-year-old became one of the tournament’s surprise figures after eye-catching performances against Spain and Argentina, turning a late international breakthrough into a global following.
- Vozinha gained more than 28 million Instagram followers after the World Cup.
- His tournament displays helped secure a move to Chilean giants Colo-Colo.
- The goalkeeper’s sudden fame has arrived after years spent away from the sport’s biggest spotlight.
“I have lost my peace and quiet”
Vozinha admitted that the attention has sharply reduced his privacy. Trips outside, including simple visits to restaurants, now regularly bring requests for photographs and autographs.
“I have lost my peace and quiet,” he said. “I no longer have privacy, or at least far less than before. When I go out or go to a restaurant, there is always somebody asking for a picture or an autograph. Worse still, someone may be filming me.”
For a player whose World Cup story arrived unexpectedly at the age of 40, the speed of the change has been difficult to absorb.
Concern for his family in Cape Verde
The consequences have also reached Vozinha’s family home. Supporters have been arriving every day at his mother’s house in Cape Verde, while the goalkeeper is unable to intervene from abroad.
“I am not there, so I cannot help,” he said.
Despite the move to Colo-Colo and the extraordinary online audience built during the tournament, Vozinha said he would choose his previous existence if he could reverse the shift.
“Honestly, if I had to choose between the life I have now and the one I had before, I would choose the life I had before.”
