Cape Verde hero Vozinha: 'I've lost my peace and tranquillity'

A global star who wants his old life back

Cape Verde's heroic World Cup goalkeeper Vozinha says he craves the "peace and tranquillity" of the life he led before he shot to fame. The 40-year-old, who now has more than 28 million followers on Instagram, has admitted that the fairytale rise that turned him into a global star has also cost him the anonymity he once took for granted.

From 50,000 to millions in one night

Vozinha shot to global prominence in June when he almost single-handedly kept Spain at bay as Cape Verde drew 0-0 with the European champions on their World Cup debut. His follower count on social media sky-rocketed over the course of the game, from about 50,000 to more than one million. His fame shot up even further when Argentina needed extra time to beat Cape Verde in the round of 32.

Yet the goalkeeper insists his life was easier before his World Cup heroics.

"I've lost my peace and tranquillity," he told the Observer. "I no longer have any privacy, or at least much less than I used to. 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. That's what has changed most in my life, and I don't think there's anything I can do about it."

The mother at the heart of the fairytale

Vozinha's mother became part of the fairytale too. After he revealed that she could not afford a visa to watch his World Cup debut, US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that the visa fee had been waived. Now Vozinha has revealed that his mother is visited on a daily basis by fans wanting to talk or to take photographs with him.

"A lot of people want to be famous and have a public profile, but they only see the positive side of that reality," said Vozinha. "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."

An ambassador for a nation of 525,000

His World Cup performances for Cape Verde, a West African island nation with a population of 525,000, earned Vozinha a nomination for men's goalkeeper of the year at the Ballon d'Or awards.

"It's nice to feel like a kind of ambassador, but I want to make it clear that what we achieved was a collective effort," Vozinha said. "We made history and the best news would be if we could harness that momentum to develop our country and improve the living conditions of our people."

Despite the chaos that fame has brought to his daily life, Vozinha remains determined to use his platform for his homeland, hoping the historic World Cup run can spark lasting change for the island nation and its people.