The ideal team of the 2026 World Cup, according to the fans who voted on the FIFA website, starts with Vozinha in goal and is completed with ten footballers whose membership in elite world clubs is easy to recognize. Very few specialists, however, could answer which team the Cape Verde goalkeeper, the surprising African team that did not lose in 90 minutes against the two finalists of the tournament, Spain and Argentina, played for before the World Cup.
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The correct answer would be GD Chaves, from the Portuguese Second Division, although at the same time it would be information pending update. After the World Cup, Vozinha signed for Colo Colo, one of the giants of Chile, although an unforeseen problem has arisen in recent hours: the most popular goalkeeper of the World Cup, who went from 50 thousand followers on Instagram to 29.6 million in just over a month, will not be able to wear his nickname on the back of his shirt for now. Due to legislation that only allows players to wear their surname on their clothing, Vozinha cannot be Vozinha.
The next few hours will be decisive in a case that revitalized the ailing Chilean league. While the arrival of the 40-year-old goalkeeper was expected this Thursday night in Santiago, a meeting of the National Professional Football Association (ANFP) scheduled for this Friday will determine the name he will wear on his jersey, a crucial matter for merchandise sales. Amid the excitement over Vozinha’s arrival, Adidas, the company that outfits Colo Colo, has requested the import of goalkeeper jersey models similar to those used this season.
According to the football tradition of Portuguese-speaking countries, especially Brazil, Vozinha is not the goalkeeper’s name but his nickname. Born at the start of the 1986 Mexico World Cup, on June 3 of that year, although registered after the tournament, his father went to the civil registry intending to name him Jorge Valdano, then forward of the Argentine world champion team. Upon the official’s rejection, the chosen name was Josimar, the right-back of Brazil in that World Cup, who performed excellently.
Josimar José Evora Dias, however, would be popularly known as Vozinha, the nickname affectionately referring to the grandparents who raised him and accompanied him throughout his long football career, usually in clubs outside the main radars: he played for eight teams, from semi-professionals in Africa to lesser-known institutions in Europe, for example in Moldova and Cyprus. His four matches in the World Cup, however, changed his life.
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Driven more by advertising impact than by sporting needs, Colo Colo, leader by a wide margin in the Chilean championship, announced his signing shortly after the World Cup that the country followed from afar: although the national team won the 2015 and 2016 Copa América, both against Argentina, its last participation in the World Cups dates back to Brazil 2014. The goalkeeper, who will be presented in the coming hours, will sign a contract for the next six months and earn 500,000 dollars during that period.
A few years ago, the ANFP banned the use of nicknames on jerseys due to the multiplication of cases. The same officials should reconsider for the extraordinary meeting that Colo Colo requested for this Friday. It is enough for one club to refuse to change the regulation for Vozinha not to be Vozinha, at least on his jersey. Colo Colo’s main rival, Universidad de Chile, made a similar request regarding footballer Charles Aránguiz, who upon returning to the country wanted to use jersey number 20, which was already registered under another player. The request was denied and Aránguiz had to use number 29.
If the rule change is not authorized, Vozinha could still play with his nickname printed on his clothing, although Colo Colo would have to pay an 800-dollar fine for each match and, above all, the goalkeeper would receive a warning as soon as the matches start for not wearing the appropriate attire.
Another viral player of the World Cup, although less prominent, New Zealander Tim Payne signed for another South American giant, Olimpia of Paraguay, also Copa Libertadores champion. The defender was on the bench this Sunday in the match against Libertad but did not enter, so he has yet to debut.
