Spain held by Cabo Verde as Vozinha frustrates champions, father once tried Jorge Valdano | OneFootball

Spain were held by Cabo Verde in Atlanta as 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha produced seven saves to frustrate the European champions on their World Cup debut.

This year he has alternated starts and back-up at Chaves, a mid-table side in Portugal’s second division. Advanced numbers suggested Spain were worth 2.28 goals, yet Josimar José Évora Dias, valued at about €50,000, kept them out. “Here in Cabo Verde there is a regulation on given names, sometimes they allow it and sometimes not. As I was away on military service, I sent two names home. The first was Jorge Valdano, but it was rejected,” his father, Zé Pedro, told Globo.

Why Vozinha? In Portuguese it can mean little voice or granny. In his case, childhood jibes about running to his grandmother for help stuck, and so did the nickname.

His given name, Josimar, reflects his father’s admiration for Brazil’s right-back at Mexico 86, who later had a brief spell at Sevilla and scored two memorable goals against Northern Ireland and Poland.

Team-mates hailed him as he wept on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium turf, a new idol for the small African nation. His display underpinned Cabo Verde’s historic draw on debut at a World Cup and served as the counterpoint to Spain’s disaster.

Source: El Periódico Mediterráneo