Vozinha, who also goes by the full name Josimar Dias, also went viral for... well, going viral, gaining millions of Instagram followers within hours of making seven saves and keeping a clean sheet in a player of the match performance against Spain, recording a Flashscore player rating of 8.8 out of 10.
Making their FIFA World Cup debut after six unsuccessful attempts at qualification, the small island nation of less than 500,000 people proved their worth at the tournament by going through the group stage unbeaten with draws against Spain (0-0), Uruguay (2-2) and Saudi Arabia (0-0).
They then took Lionel Messi's Argentina to extra time in a 3-2 Round of 32 defeat, with Vozinha racking up eight saves along the way, and by the time the Cabo Verdeans boarded the long flight back to the Praia International Airport, Vozinha's pre-tournament Instagram following of 50,000 had surged beyond 20 million.
A fairly anonymous life playing in Portugal's second-tier, in the northern city of Chaves with a population of just 40,000, had been turned upside down by a World Cup campaign of 18 saves at a save rate of 78% - the eighth-best of the entire tournament and even ahead of Liverpool's Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson.
Vozinha's reaction to his Instagram following exploding during the tournament suggested he was not expecting nor prepared to become a mega star, and the Colo-Colo custodian is not a fan of his new life of fame.
“I no longer have any privacy, or at least much less than I used to," Vozinha told The Observer.
"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.
“I’ve lost my peace and tranquillity ... That’s what has changed most in my life, and I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it.”
“A lot of people want to be famous and have a public profile, but they only see the positive side of that reality,” Vozinha continued.
“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.”
Vozinha signed a short-term contract with Chilean club Colo-Colo at the end of the World Cup, where anonymity is near impossible to come by.
Whether he'll remain at the club beyond 2026 depends on whether he can activate an automatic one-year extension that requires him to appear in at least half of their matches since his sign-on date, a threshold he is currently not on target to reach.
Despite the personal struggles that have come with now being a recognisable face after a quiet 20-year playing career, Vozinha has not lost his love of playing for his country, to the point that he reversed a retirement decision to continue on for Cape Verde as they look to return to the Africa Cup of Nations after missing qualification for the previous edition.
A personal error from Vozinha gifted Mali their third goal in a 3-1 win over Cape Verde at the weekend in the first round of AFCON qualifying, but head coach Humberto Bettencourt is backing the Yashin Trophy nominee (Goalkeeper of the Year at the Ballon d'Or awards) to bounce back against Rwanda on Tuesday.
Aaron Murphy has been with Flashscore since 2018 and, as the founding editor of the Australian newsdesk, has reported on-site at several major events in Melbourne including the Australian Open, State of Origin, A-League, NBL and international cricket. You can read his pieces here and contact him on X or LinkedIn.
