Cape Verde World Cup breakout star Vozinha has agreed to join Chilean powerhouse Colo Colo on a reported 18-month free-agent contract after shining as a 40-year-old free agent. Club president Anibal Mosa confirmed the deal on July 25, 2026, stating the veteran goalkeeper will travel to Santiago for medical examinations.
The remarkable journey of Josimar José Évora Dias has reached a milestone in South America. Better known as Vozinha, the veteran goalkeeper is heading to the Chilean capital after a tournament run that turned him into an overnight global sensation.
World Cup Heroics and the Road to Santiago
Entering the 2026 FIFA World Cup without a club after his contract with Portuguese second division side Chaves expired, Vozinha arrived on the world stage with modest expectations according to BBC reporting. That changed immediately during Cape Verde’s debut match. At 40 years and 12 days old, he became the oldest player to make an appearance in a nation’s debut World Cup game The New York Times, securing a man-of-the-match award with seven crucial saves in a scoreless draw against eventual champions Spain.
His stellar form continued through the group stage, including another clean sheet against Saudi Arabia Yahoo Sports, carrying the archipelagic nation into the Round of 32. Even in a heartbreaking 3-2 extra-time defeat to defending champions Argentina, Vozinha stopped eight shots, earning a spot on FIFA’s fan-voted Dream Team.
“Vozinha will be a Colo Colo player. In the coming days he will travel to Chile, undergo the usual medical examinations and then be presented here at the Estadio Monumental.”
Anibal Mosa, Colo Colo President, via BBC
Before finalizing terms with the Chilean giants, the veteran shot-stopper drew links to Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, where he would have played alongside Lionel Messi. Instead, sporting logic and managerial ambition steered him toward Santiago according to Goal.com.
Joining a Decorated Chilean Giant
Founded in 1925, Colo Colo is one of South America’s most successful and decorated club institutions. The Santiago-based club holds a record 34 Primera División titles and is the only Chilean club to capture the Copa Libertadores lifting the prize in 1991. Under the guidance of Argentine coach Fernando Ortiz and featuring veteran midfielder Arturo Vidal, the squad sits comfortably atop the domestic league standings midway through the 2026 season.
“From a sporting perspective, Vozinha is in excellent form, and that is why we decided to sign him.”
Aníbal Mosa, Colo-Colo President, via Goal.com
Mosa acknowledged that while sporting performance drove the acquisition, the signing also carries marketing appeal BBC. Following his World Cup displays, Vozinha’s Instagram following exploded from roughly 50,000 to nearly 30 million followers, bolstered by a campaign from Brazilian influencer Casimiro highlighted by RFI. His international recognition even earned him an unusual tribute: a new species of marine mollusk, Aldisa vozinhai
, named in his honor.
An Unlikely Two-Decade Journey
The move to Chile crowns an exceptionally winding professional career. Vozinha did not sign his first professional contract until he was 26, having previously worked as an electrician while playing semi-professionally in Cape Verde Dailysabah. His 20-year career has since spanned clubs across Angola, Cyprus, Moldova, Slovakia, and Portugal noted by The New York Times.
With documentation nearing completion over the weekend according to AS, the veteran goalkeeper prepares to step onto the pitch at the Estadio Monumental David Arellano, ready to write the highest-profile chapter of his career with the reigning Chilean leaders.
