Cape Verde’s World Cup hero Vozinha has received a special exemption after signing for Colo Colo. On Monday, August 3, the 40-year-old goalkeeper signed with the Chilean club on a six-month deal.
A day earlier, he was given a rousing welcome by the fans of the club in Santiago as they welcomed the man who rose to global fame at the recently concluded FIFA World Cup. Now, after signing with the Primera Division club, he has received an exemption from the Chilean Football Federation (ANFP).
The league rules require players to sport their legal names on their club jerseys, with ANFP regulations clearly stating that “nicknames, appellations or sobriquets will not be permitted” on playing shirts. As such, Vozinha would have needed to put his legal name, Josimar Jose Evora Dias, on his jersey.
But Colo Colo applied for an exemption in his case and secured permission for him to use his famous “Vozinha” nickname on the club’s official shirt.
Vozinha was recently a part of the Portuguese second-division side Chaves in June. However, he became a free agent after parting ways with the club. This led to interest from some clubs, and Colo Colo, Chile’s most successful club, made the move for him.
He passed a medical before concluding paperwork at the club’s Santiago headquarters and was introduced at a news conference at Monumental David Arellano Stadium in Santiago.
“It is the name I have used my entire life. In Cape Verde, it holds great significance and a rich history, and now it does globally as well. If my grandmother were alive today, I think she would be proud. I hope to keep using it for the rest of my career as a tribute,” he said about using his nickname on the jersey.
Vozinha also said that he always believed himself to be a “‘big club’ player” and called the move to Colo Colo a career highlight. He said he received many offers after a successful World Cup run, but there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted to play for the Chilean giants after they came calling.
Apart from being the most successful Chilean club domestically, Colo Colo is the only team from the country to have won the Copa Libertadores, having done so in 1991. Currently, they sit at the top of the Primera Division with 42 points from 17 matches, with second-placed Universidad de Chile trailing by 12 points.
If Vozinha gets good game time under his belt, it is likely that he will end with a league winner’s medal in his debut campaign for the historic club.
Vozinha’s journey from Cape Verde islands to World Cup hero
Vozinha’s senior football career began with Cape Verde club Batuque, and he played for Angola’s Progresso Associação before returning to his home nation. In 2015, he moved to Europe when Moldovan club Zimbru Chișinău signed him.
This was followed by a move to Liga Portugal side Gil Vicente in 2016, where he impressed in a short period of time. Spells with clubs in Cyprus (AEL Limassol) and Slovakia (AS Trenčín) were next, before he returned to Portugal with second-division side Chaves in 2024.
Having impressed in Cape Verde’s run to the quarter-final of the African Cup of Nations, Vozinha burst onto the scene during his team’s debut World Cup campaign.
The opening match against Spain saw him make seven saves as he kept a clean sheet against the European champions, earning Cape Verde an unlikely draw. Cape Verde became the talk of the World Cup, and Vozinha’s status as a cult hero started.
This was followed by more heroics against Uruguay in the 2-2 draw and then another clean sheet in the final group game against Saudi Arabia. As Cape Verde secured their passage to a surprising Round of 32 spot, Vozinha’s popularity exploded with his Instagram followers going from 50,000 to nearly 30 million.
In the Round of 32, he made eight saves against Lionel Messi’s Argentina as the Blue Sharks gave the 2022 World Cup winners an almighty scare. The African nation fell to a thrilling 3-2 defeat in extra time.
Vozinha’s heroics earned him a place in FIFA’s team of the tournament, and now he has taken another massive step in his career with the move to Colo Colo.
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