Vozinha struggles to cope with glare of fame

After repelling eventual champion Spain and becoming an instant global celebrity, Vozinha was an unlikely hero of this year's World Cup. But four months on from his tournament exploits, Cape Verde's veteran goalkeeper is discovering that adapting to his newfound fame is not easy.

The 40-year-old, whose full name is Josimar Jose Evora Dias, moved to Chile in July and now finds himself struggling to settle at new club Colo-Colo.

At the World Cup, Vozinha helped Cape Verde hold Spain to a 0-0 draw on its tournament debut, as the tiny African island nation reached the last 32, where it took Lionel Messi's Argentina to extra time before bowing out.

Before that game against Spain in Atlanta, Vozinha was just a journeyman goalkeeper who had spent his career shuffling between unremarkable clubs in Portugal, Cyprus and Slovakia.

A clean sheet against the eventual World Cup champion saw his Instagram account balloon from 50,000 followers to several million in a matter of hours. His account currently boasts 27.5 million followers.

Vozinha shed tears after that match, because of the scale of his and the team's achievement, but also sadness at not being able to obtain a visa for his mother to be there.

After joining Colo-Colo, Chile's most successful side from the nation's capital Santiago, he was unveiled at its Estadio Monumental David Arellano before thousands of fans to a backdrop of fireworks.

He has been recruited by global brands like Adidas, Pepsi and Red Bull to be the face of advertising campaigns.

Vozinha also recently attended the Ballon d'Or ceremony in London as he came sixth in the voting for the men's goalkeeper of the year prize.

However, on the field, the player who spent last season in Portugal's second division has toiled.

By the start of November, he had appeared in only five games out of a possible 14 for Colo-Colo, which won the Copa Libertadores, South America's equivalent of the Champions League, in 1991.

He was expected to be a substitute again this weekend, as his new team closes in on the Chilean title, and a place in next year's continental club tournament.

"I came here with the intention of playing in the Libertadores, but my focus is on this week, which could be very important for Colo-Colo. My future will be decided after that. I'm not thinking about that," Vozinha told reporters.

Reluctant celebrity

Vozinha's life was turned on its head following his World Cup exploits. He has moved to a new country, and went from being a virtual unknown to a celebrity with no privacy.

He worked as a rubbish collector before turning professional. To put his number of Instagram followers into perspective: the entire population of his native Cape Verde is only a little over 500,000.

"I've lost my peace and tranquility," Vozinha told British newspaper The Observer.

"I no longer have any privacy, or at least much less than I used to. Now I go out, I go to a restaurant, and there's always someone who wants to take a photo with me or asks me for an autograph. Or, worse, someone is filming me."

In the first few weeks after signing for Colo-Colo, Vozinha regularly went to a bakery in the wealthy Vitacura neighborhood of Santiago.

"I think it was good for him to go, because he felt welcomed and was able to chat to people," Gustavo Cassin, the manager of the cafe called Metissage, told reporters.

Cassin and Vozinha avoided discussing football. The player would talk longingly about his home country as he waited for his morning croissant.

Will he stay?

The past, when he combined playing with teaching beach volleyball, is now a distant memory.

"To be honest, if I were offered the life I have today or the life I had before, I'd chosen the one I had before," he told The Observer.

In Chile, media are speculating as to whether Vozinha will remain into 2027 — he signed a six-month contract with Colo-Colo, extendable by a year only if he plays enough minutes.

He has faced criticism, with Chilean goalkeeping legend Claudio Bravo, formerly of Barcelona and Manchester City, questioning his ability.

"He has made several errors in situations that require coordination," said the ex-Chile captain. "And if you don't have coordination, you'll never do it."

Vozinha has a handful of games remaining before his contract runs out, and perhaps, with it, his Chilean adventure.