Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha has said he misses the “peace and tranquillity” of the life he led before his World Cup performances turned him into a global name.
The 40-year-old became one of the stories of the tournament in June, producing a display that almost single-handedly kept Spain at bay as Cape Verde drew 0-0 with the European champions on their World Cup debut. His following on social media climbed from around 50,000 to more than one million over the course of that game, and his profile rose again when Argentina needed extra time to beat Cape Verde in the round of 32. He now has more than 28 million followers on Instagram.
The attention has come at a cost. “I’ve lost my peace and tranquillity,” Vozinha said. “I no longer have any privacy, or at least much less than I used to.” He described everyday outings as now routinely interrupted, whether by supporters asking for a photograph or an autograph or, in some cases, by someone filming him. “That’s what has changed most in my life, and I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it,” he said.
Fame has followed his family too. After Vozinha revealed that his mother had been unable to afford a visa to watch his World Cup debut, US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that the visa fee had been waived. Vozinha has now disclosed that his mother is visited on a daily basis by fans who want to talk to her or take photographs with him.
He is clear-eyed about what the recognition involves. “A lot of people want to be famous and have a public profile, but they only see the positive side of that reality,” he said. “To be honest, if I were offered the life I have today or the life I had before, I’d choose the one I had before.”
His performances in goal for Cape Verde — a West African island nation with a population of 525,000 — earned him a nomination for men’s goalkeeper of the year at the Ballon d’Or awards. “It’s nice to feel like a kind of ambassador, but I want to make it clear that what we achieved was a collective effort,” Vozinha said. “We made history and the best news would be if we could harness that momentum to develop our country and improve the living conditions of our people.”