The Grandmother in Cape Verde's Goal

After the final whistle, emotions finally came to the surface. With tears in his eyes, 40-year-old Vozinha looked out over the vast arena in Atlanta. The veteran had withstood all the attacks and shots from the Spanish stars. In the final minutes of the first half, he made several strong saves, and after that, he remained in complete control of his penalty area. He was rightly named the best player of the match.

In Cape Verde, Vozinha—who was playing his 90th international match—is a big name, but in Europe he hasn’t made headlines yet. Most recently, he played two seasons for the Portuguese second-division club GD Chaves. His contract with the club expires at the end of this month. His future remains uncertain. In Europe, he has previously played in Cyprus, Moldova, and Slovakia.

The fact that he has always worn the name Vozinha on his back is due to a childhood nickname and a coincidence at the start of his career abroad. “I often played soccer with older kids on the streets of my hometown. Because I was very ambitious, I got upset about losing and would stomp home angrily afterward,” he told “FIFA.com.” “Since I lived with my grandparents, the other kids teased me by saying I was going to complain to my grandparents. That’s how I got the nickname Vozinha.”

All of Cape Verde came to know the goalkeeper as Vozinha. When he then moved to Angola for his first stint abroad, he wanted to play under his birth name, Josimar, which he had been given in honor of the former Brazilian full-back. But there was already a Josimar at his new club, so he stuck with Vozinha.

In World Cup qualifying, Vozinha kept a clean sheet in five of eight matches. He made seven saves in the scoreless draw against Spain. He only had to rely on luck once, when a shot bounced off his crossbar in the 37th minute.