Little voice silenced Spain: 40-year-old GD Chaves goalkeeper became a global phenomenon

A dream afternoon for the Cape Verdean, who plays in the Portuguese second league and only turned professional at the age of 25, in Angola. Vozinha was a hero and became famous in a matter of hours.

On the biggest stage it has ever stepped on, debutant Cape Verde proved, this Monday, that favoritism is nothing more than a probability and that football can be seen in a very simple way: it is always 11 against 11, all with two legs. And the goalkeeper of the blue sharks, Vozinha, showed the whole world that it is never too late to live “the dream”.

Facing one of the teams in the world (if not the best) and the clear favorite to win the World Cup, the 40-year-old Desportivo de Chaves goalkeeper was, to everyone’s surprise, the best on the field. With the help of colleagues in the field, Little voice was a hero and managed to hold the goal until the end, putting the archipelago in the football history books.

Famous in 90 minutes

The impact of the curious effect that leads us to root for the ‘underdogs’ was felt in many ways. In addition to the huge ovation (including from the Spanish) that the Cape Verdean goalkeeper received, Vozinha was also very surprised at the end of the game to find out that he was… very famous on Instagram.

The number of followers of the goalkeeper, who only left Cape Verdean and Angolan football at the age of 30, soared. It started surpassing half a million and, as of Tuesday morning, it already has almost 6 million (remember that Cape Verde has a population of around 500 thousand people).

“Dream come true! Representing Cape Verde on the biggest stage in world football is an indescribable honor. No words… just pride, gratitude and responsibility”, wrote the goalkeeper, after the game, on his social networks.

Vozinha’s history and trajectory

Born Josimar José Évora Dias, in São Vicente, Vozinha was raised by his grandparents, with his father doing military service and his mother almost always working.

“The nickname is because of my grandparents. I never lived with my parents. When I was born, my father was in military service. And my mother always had to work for something. So, I always grew up with my grandparents. In my region, the boys were much older and I always played in the street, I got hit a lot”, he recalled in an interview, cited by .

Vozinha’s first name also has its origins in football: his father wanted to call him Josimar in honor of the former Brazilian international Josimar Higino Pereira. He still thought about calling his son Valdano, in honor of the Argentine Jorge Valdano, but the name was not accepted by the Cape Verdean authorities.

“I cried [após o final do jogo]because I grew up with my grandparents”, he said in the interview, at the end of the historic game against Spain. “Unfortunately, they are no longer here. They died a few years ago. They did everything for me. I wish my mother was here, but she didn’t get the money in time to get the visa [para estar nos Estados Unidos]”, he confessed.

“I worked my whole life for this showcase”, said the goalkeeper. “I’m 40 years old. I started playing professional football at 25, very late. Our best weapon is our unity. We didn’t come here just to enjoy it. We’re going to face teams that we respect, but we’re going to fight for our country. I hope we can win a game and move on to the next stage.”

Vozinha has always performed far from the big stages. It was only at the age of 22 that he began guarding goals as a profession, in Batuque. Three seasons later he went to Mind lens and, after a spell in Angola, he returned to Mindelo’s formation. Only at the age of 30 did he leave for Moldova, where he spent a season aurochs to the chest. This was followed… Portugal, more precisely Barcelos, at the service of Gil Vicente. After five seasons at the Cypriots of AEL Limassol and two in Trencinfrom Slovakia, returned to Portugal, through the doors of Chaves.

Uruguay and Saudi Arabia also drew

Belgium and Saudi Arabia, in the same group (H) as Spain and Cape Verde, drew 1-1 this Monday, leaving the four members of the group with 1 point each.

Cape Verde’s next clash is against Uruguay, on the 21st, at 11pm. The Saudis followed, six days later, at 01:00 in the morning.