‘I’ve Lost My Peace’ – World Cup Hero Vozinha Opens Up on Struggles of Sudden Fame

Viral World Cup goalkeeper Vozinha says fame has been hard to handle, and admits he would happily go back to life before everyone knew his name.

The Cape Verde keeper became a star in June, when he made seven saves and kept a clean sheet in his country's first ever World Cup match, a 0-0 draw with Spain, who went on to win the tournament. In the days that followed, his Instagram following jumped from 56,000 to 14 million. After being nominated for the men's Goalkeeper of the Year award at the 2026 Ballon d'Or, he now has more than 28 million followers.

The 40-year-old told The Observer the attention has cost him his calm. "I've lost my peace and tranquillity," he said. "I no longer have any privacy, or at least much less than I used to."

Simple outings have changed the most. "Now I go out, I go to a restaurant, and there's always someone who wants to take a photo with me or asks me for an autograph. Or, worse, someone is filming me," he said. "That's what has changed most in my life, and I don't think there's anything I can do about it."

Vozinha said many people chase fame without seeing the downsides. "A lot of people want to be famous and have a public profile, but they only see the positive side of that reality," he said. "To be honest, if I were offered the life I have today or the life I had before, I'd choose the one I had before."

His family has felt it too. Fans now show up at his mother's home in Cape Verde every day, and he cannot be there to help. "I'm not there so I can't help them [his parents]," he said. "They have to learn with the situation and set boundaries."

The keeper also spoke about how he first found out he had gone viral, just minutes after the Spain game, when his following had already passed one million. "A member of the team's catering staff came up to me and told me I had a billion followers," he said.

He did not believe it at first. "I had no idea what he was talking about; I thought he was joking, but he insisted," he said. "Later, I went to do some interviews in the mixed zone, and a CazéTV [a Brazilian broadcaster] journalist asked me if I knew what was happening. She showed me her phone and that was when I saw that I had more than a million followers."