The World Cup's biggest cult hero regrets new fame: 'I have lost my peace'

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FT Desk

The biggest cult hero to emerge from the 2026 World Cup was Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha.

The 40-year-old, who did not even have a club during the World Cup after leaving Chaves, emerged as of the most popular players from the tournament, with his herculean performances against Spain and Argentina earning him legions of new fans.

Incredibly, he earned over 28 million new followers on Instagram following his World Cup exploits. Before the tournament, he had around 50,000 followers and now his follower count stands at 28.8 million.

Remarkably, despite only being in the public consciousness for a few matches during the summer, he subsequently received a nomination for the Best Goalkeeper award at the upcoming Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Even though Vozinha has plenty of new online supporters and indeed an injection of income through new sponsorships, he prefers the quieter life he had before.

"I preferred my life before fame, I have lost my peace and tranquillity," he told the Observer.

"I no longer have intimacy, or at least I have much less than before. Now I go out, I go to a restaurant and there is always someone who wants to take a picture with me or ask me for an autograph. Or, even worse, someone who is recording me. That's what has changed the most in my life, and I don't think I can do anything about it."

Vozinha made seven saves against the eventual champions, Spain and then played a key part as Cape Verde remarkably took defending champions Argentina to extra time.

As his nation progressed further in the tournament, his fame grew.

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

“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.”

Another unwanted consequence of his fame is that so-called fans turn up to his parents' house looking for potential autographs or memorabilia. His mother is accommodating, but his father is more reserved.

“I’m not there, so I can’t help them,” says the 40-year-old goalkeeper. “They have to learn to live with the situation and set boundaries.”

His new-found fame has opened doors to those aforementioned sponsorship deals - but that doesn't mean he's willing to work with anyone.

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A post shared by Josimar Dias (@vozinha1)

“I know that during the World Cup there were lots of companies and brands that wanted to work with me," he says.

“But, while we were competing I only did one promotional collaboration, with UFL Mobile. I don’t know what offers might come in the future, but for now I don’t want to work with any tobacco, alcohol or betting brands.”

Following the World Cup, plenty of clubs reportedly held an interest in signing Vozinha, with the Saudi Pro League or Major League Soccer potential destinations, but he ended up signing for Colo Colo, who pressed hardest for his signature.

Ultimately, despite struggling with the fame, he is happy to have helped put Cape Verde on the map on to a broader audience.

“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,” he admitted.

"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.”

Vozinha was honoured in a unique way after the World Cup, with a species of animal named after him.

The animal in question is a new species of sea slug discovered in the Caribbean by biologist Jesus Ortea, who has previously named other species after former Real Madrid stopper Keylor Navas and Sporting Gijon forward Quini.