40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha performed brilliantly in the World Cup against Spain. He led his country Cape Verde to a draw, taking his followers from 3000 to 1.7 million and becoming an overnight hero.
New York: Imagine, a goalkeeper who has only 3000 followers on Instagram, and before the end of a single match, he has 1.7 million followers i.e. 17 lakhs. Today, the name that is being searched the most by the world as soon as one types ‘V’ on Google, is that of this player.
This 40-year-old player, who stopped every attack of European champions Spain like a rock, has registered his name in history. But who is this player after all? Who stood up against Spain’s world class team. Who foiled every shot of his by hitting his chest. This lone guardian of big dreams of a small country. The one who was unknown till yesterday to the football world has today become the new hero. Now the whole world wants to know about this player who has rendered helpless the strikers worth crores playing in the English Premier League and Spanish La Liga. The name of this player is: Vozinha.
Came late, but came well
40-year-old Vozinha plays goalkeeping for Portugal’s second division club ‘Chaves’. But his football career was not so easy. You will be surprised to know that Vozinha was not even a professional footballer till the age of 25. And see today, they put up a wall against a strong team like Spain on the big stage of the World Cup.
A record that’s hard to break
Since 2018, no other goalkeeper has saved so many shots from inside the box in a single World Cup match. In the last three World Cups, the 40-year-old has proudly made his place in the list of few goalkeepers to have kept a ‘clean sheet’ (not conceding a single goal) despite facing more than 7 on-target shots.
tears of joy cape verde
When a small country like Cape Verde, playing its first World Cup, achieved a point by holding former world champion Spain to a draw, it was the result of Vozinha’s 40 years of struggle and hard work. There are waves of celebration today on the shores of this small island country situated in the Atlantic Ocean. The whole country is paying tribute to its ‘Guardian Angel’, who has made the impossible possible.