“We, Cape Verde, ten islands in the middle of the sea, protected by the blue shark, have already made history.”
So proclaimed a man celebrating in Cape Verde’s capital of Praia after his country’s long-odds Game 1 draw against Spain at this year’s World Cup. The match—which took place in Atlanta this past Monday—received widespread international attention, as Spain ranks among the tournament’s favorites. Meanwhile, Cape Verde, a small Atlantic nation of roughly 530,000 people, is both a first-time participant and a heavy underdog.
Yet a contest that seemed foreordained delivered one the Cup’s most remarkable moments so far: the sudden arrival of Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper, Vozinha. The team’s elder statesman—a veteran “Blue Shark,” as the country’s soccer players are dubbed—started Monday’s game with 46,210 Instagram followers. As of publishing this story, he has 14.9 million. All because he did what every goalkeeper in history sets out to do every game: block every shot that came his way.
Underdog achievements happen regularly in athletics, but instantaneous global fame doesn’t often follow in tow.
Born Josimar Jose Evora Dias, he entered soccer’s orbit from day one, as his father wanted to name his newborn son “Valdano” for the Argentine striker Jorge Valdano (who, just 26 days after Vozinha’s birthday, helped Argentina clinch the 1986 World Cup). Reportedly, Cape Verdean authorities wouldn’t permit the use of the name.
Later, though, he would get his own mononym: “Vozinha.” Born from a humble etymology, it translates from Portuguese (the official language of Cape Verde) to English as “granny.”
“It’s because of my grandparents,” Vozinha told FIFA in 2024. “I never lived with my parents… My dad was doing military service and my mum always had to work, so I grew up with my grandparents.” The nickname also gelled before the athlete’s adolescent growth spurt; for a while, he was on the smaller, albeit still highly competitive, side.
The unassuming alias has been followed by a mirroring journeyman modesty: Vozinha began his professional career at the age of 25 in Cape Verde and in Portugal, before tracking across clubs from Angola to Cyprus to Moldova to Slovakia. He holds just one professional level trophy: the 2018-2019 Cypriot Cup, attained when he was with the team AEL Limassol.
His world, and by extension Cape Verde’s, now looks very different, thanks to a grittily awe-inspiring performance against the Spaniards and a call to action by a Brazilian streamer.
