Colo-Colo Signs Vozinha After His Stellar Performance in the 2026 World Cup

One of the standout figures of the 2026 World Cup was the Cape Verdean goalkeeper, Vozinha, who played a key role in achieving historic results for his national team. Following his impressive performance, several clubs around the world set their sights on him, but ultimately Colo-Colo from Chile secured his signing after he became a free agent from Chaves in Portugal.

In the country's first-ever World Cup appearance, they reached the Round of 16, where they were eliminated by the Argentine National Team. What was surprising about the Cape Verdeans is that they shared a group with the newly crowned world champions, Spain, and with Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay, managing to draw both matches.

His performance against Spain was the most remarkable. In a match where La Roja had total ball dominance, Vozinha managed to keep a clean sheet with seven key saves. After the match, social media exploded, and within just a few hours, he gained 13 million followers on Instagram, reaching 29.5 million as of today.

Although Colo-Colo will not play in any international cups for the remainder of the year, the 40-year-old goalkeeper will have his first real opportunity to showcase his skills at a big club, as his career has been based on playing with so-called "smaller" teams.

Josimar José Évora Dias, 40, was one of the oldest players in this edition of the World Cup. He has already stated that the name on his back comes from his childhood when he lived on the island of São Vicente in Cape Verde.

"The nickname comes from my grandparents. I never lived with my parents. When I was born, my father was in the army, and my mother always had to work to make a living. So I always grew up with my grandparents. In my neighborhood, the boys were much older, and I always played in the street, where I got hit a lot," he explained to the FIFA website.

Josimar José Évora Dias concluded: "I played very well with my feet, I was competitive and rebellious, I didn't like to lose. I took a lot of hits, and when I couldn't get back at them, I would go home angry, with a sour face, and they would mock me, saying I was going to complain to my grandparents."

When he started his career as a player and left Cape Verde, he was still called Josimar; however, he encountered another goalkeeper with the same name in Angola. To avoid confusion, he decided to use his childhood nickname. Additionally, his real name, Josimar, was a tribute from the goalkeeper's father to the Botafogo fullback who played with Brazil in the 1986 World Cup.

His professional career has mainly been marked by stints at more modest teams. Discovered by Batuque, he also played for Mindelense before starting his international career.

Over the years, he played for Progresso in Angola, Zimbru Chiinu in Moldova, AEL Limassol in Cyprus, AS Trenín in Slovakia, and Gil Vicente in Portugal, before signing with Chaves.

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