Vozinha: Cape Verde goalkeeper on fame and fans

· 2 min read

Cape Verde's heroic World Cup goalkeeper Vozinha says he craves the "peace and tranquillity" of the life he led before he shot to fame.

The 40-year-old shot to global prominence in June when he almost single-handedly kept Spain at bay as Cape Verde drew 0-0 with the European champions on their World Cup debut.

Vozinha's follower count on social media sky-rocketed over the course of the game, from about 50,000 to more than one million.

But his fame shot up even further when Argentina needed extra time to beat Cape Verde in the round of 32.

Vozinha says his life was easier before his World Cup heroics.

"I've lost my peace and tranquillity," he told the Observer., external

"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.

"That's what has changed most in my life, and I don't think there's anything I can do about it."

Vozinha's mother became part of the fairytale too. After he revealed that she had could not afford a visa to watch his World Cup debut, US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that the visa fee had been waived.

Now Vozinha has revealed that his mother is visited on a daily basis by fans wanting to talk or to take photographs with him.

"A lot of people want to be famous and have a public profile, but they only see the positive side of that reality," said Vozinha.

"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 World Cup performances for Cape Verde, a West African island nation with a population of 525,000, earned Vozinha 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."