Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha is focusing on football and not commercial opportunities as he looks to find a new club following his World Cup heroics.
Vozinha became one of the stars of the tournament due to his stunning display in his team’s opening game at the World Cup in which they held Spain to a goalless draw.
Solid performances followed against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia before a hard-luck extra-time defeat to Argentina in the round of 32.
The 40-year-old’s efforts saw him go from an unknown to global star in a matter of weeks with his Instagram following rising from 50,000 before the tournament started to over 27million.
Having enjoyed a globetrotting career to date that has included spells in Moldova, Portugal, Cyprus and Slovakia, Vozinha is now a free agent after his contract expired with second tier Portuguese side Chaves.
But rather than cash in on his new-found fame, he says he wants to find a club that will give him fulfilment before he retires.
He told CBS News: “I want to keep playing for at least another one or two years, depending on how my body feels. I hope I can find a club that wants me because I’m a football player, not because I’m a marketing person.”
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It’s been crazy – Vozinha stunned by new-found fame
On his remarkable rise to prominence, he added: “I’m very grateful and very happy for everything that happened in my life.
“I never expected any of this. It’s been crazy, insane. Football has always allowed me to be around people, but this level of recognition is something I never imagined.
“In Cape Verde, we love welcoming people. We can cook outside our homes and eat together in the street. Now I can’t always do that anymore. But I’m happy because before, whenever we said we were from Cape Verde, people would ask, ‘Where is that?’ Now they know our country. I think that’s the best thing that could happen.”
Vozinha hopes World Cup success lays foundation for Cape Verde football
Vozinha hopes Cape Verde’s success at the World Cup will enable other talented young players from the islands in the Atlantic to carve out careers in the game.
He said: “In our country, the opportunities are very small. We are African, we are Cape Verdean, and first you have to fight for visas. Even though we have a lot of talent, it’s difficult because nobody is watching you. We don’t have the facilities or the conditions that bigger countries have.
“There has always been talent in Cape Verde, but players rarely had the opportunity to go to Europe or be seen by bigger clubs. Now everybody is watching.”
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