Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha’s biggest dream was to make his World Cup debut with his mother cheering for him from the stands.
But he failed to raise the money needed to obtain a US visa for his mother.
Against this backdrop, it was hard to imagine what was going through the mind of the 40-year-old when he prepared to defend his country of less than 500,000 people against the might of Spain in Atlanta.
It was a game that most pundits expected Spain to score goals for fun — with some even predicting a scoreline of 7-0 for the reigning European champions against the World Cup debutants.
In the end, it was Vozinha who stood between Spain and victory with an incredible performance, pulling off seven saves to help the African minnows earn a goalless draw against the big favourites.
Spain were far from their best, but they still launched waves of attacks on Vozinha’s goal, keeping him on his toes from the first minute to the last.
At the end of the gruelling battle, many of Cape Verde’s outfield players dropped to their knees, still unable to comprehend what they had just achieved.
One by one, the players then walked up to Vozinha and embraced him, thanking him for his defiance.
Cape Verde maintained a good defensive shape throughout the match. Such was their discipline and composure that Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal didn’t get a touch for the first 30 minutes of the match.
It was an embarrassing record for Oyarzabal, who became the first player since the 1966 World Cup to spend the first 30 minutes of a game without touching the ball.
But despite the splendid effort from the outfield players, Spain would have won this contest by at least a goal or two.
Unfortunately for the 2010 world champions, Vozinha, who plays for the Portuguese second-division club Chaves, was a man on a mission. It was as though he put life on the line, not giving an inch to the Spaniards to get the ball past him for a goal.
Spain recorded 27 shots in total — out of which seven needed direct intervention from Vozinha.
It was an incredibly tough challenge for a 40-year-old, but Vozinha remained solid, showing great reflexes to keep the Spaniards at bay.
But after the referee blew the final whistle, Vozinha could no longer contain his emotions as tears rolled down his face.
“I cried because I grew up with my grandparents,” said Vozinha. “Unfortunately, they were not here. They died a few years before. They were everything for me, everything for my life.
“And also because of my mum. She didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money you have to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage on time. I would like her to be here.”
He may have missed his mother in his greatest moment, but what he found was truly priceless as players from the Spanish team congratulated him on a heroic display.
Earning the respect from one of the world’s best teams was nothing less than winning an Olympic medal for someone who considered quitting the sport only a few years ago.
Vozinha was glad that he continued to train and work hard every single day to fulfill his dream of playing in a World Cup.
“I work all my life for this, for this moment, for this dream,” Vozinha said. “A lot of generations in the past (dreamed of) this day but they did not achieve. And now the dream comes true.”
Vozinha, whose full name is Josimar José Évora Dias, has now become an overnight global star with his number of Instagram followers jumping from 50,000 to five million in a matter of hours.
But the man who grew up in Cape Verde, a beautiful archipelago off the west coast of Africa where youngsters struggle for opportunities in sports, refused to get carried away after winning the man-of-the-match award.
“The performance is a performance for everyone. I am the man of the game, but this award is for all my colleagues, because without them, nothing is possible,” he said. “And I will continue to work for the team and for the people.”
Named after former Brazilian defender Josimar, one of the stars of the 1986 World Cup, Vozinha has now proved that even Cape Verde, the third smallest country ever to qualify for the global showpiece, can dream big in football.
Source: Khaleej Times