Josimar Jose Evora Dias “Vozinha”
Vozinha
Santiago de Chile, Jul 28 (EFE).-
Cabo Verde goalkeeper Josimar Jose Evora Dias ‘Vozinha,’ who became one of the stars of the 2026 World Cup, continues to be a center of media fanfare he signs for the Chilean club Colo Colo.
The heroic 40-year-old goalkeeper has been under the global spotlight, after becoming famous with his performances in the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, which earned him almost 30 million followers on Instagram.
The fanfare surrounding his latest signing has been amplified by social media, where he is the goalkeeper with the most ‘followers’ above the Spanish Iker Casillas with almost 21 million.
Unlike big stars of FIFA’s showpiece event, his football career went unnoticed until this tournament.
The goalkeeper, included in the World Cup’s Dream XI released by FIFA based on fan votes, arrives on a free transfer after ending his contract with Chaves in the Portuguese second division, following a history at modest clubs: Progresso do Sambizanga (Angola), Zimbru (Moldavia), Gil Vicente (Portugal), AEL Limassol (Cyprus) or AS Trencin (Slovakia).
His arrival at Colo Colo, however, broke records and is exceptional, but comparable to the return of midfielder Arturo Vidal at 36 years old in 2024, after having played for Juventus, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, and Inter Milan.
Vozinha arrives at the best moment of his career, although also at its end, after leading his national team, Cabo Verde, to the round of 16 in their World Cup debut.
He shone with decisive saves in the goalless draw against Spain, the eventual world champions, earning praise from French soccer star Paul Pogba, who wrote on social media platform X: “The Cape Verde goalkeeper is really something, waaaaw.”
Furthermore, he had good performances against Uruguay (2-2), Saudi Arabia (0-0) and the also finalist Argentina, against whom they narrowly lost 3-2 in extra time.
Colo Colo will be the biggest economic leap of his career. After making around $10,000 a month in Portugal, Vozinha will receive close to $25,000 in Chile, according to specialized press, and his contract is expected to be for 18 months.
His valuation in the sports market also grew, according to specialized transfer records; he arrived at Gil Vicente valued at 350,000 euros in 2016, and the figure decreased to 50,000 during his time at Chaves.
His World Cup debut has turned things around and he arrives in Santiago with a valuation close to 500,000 euros. EFE
mjr/sc
