Three delays, weeks of uncertainty, and a crowd of flag-waving supporters at the airport — Vozinha has finally arrived in Chile to join Colo Colo.
"I'm very happy to be here. And I want to thank the fans for the patience they've shown while waiting for me," the 40-year-old goalkeeper told reporters at Santiago's airport on Sunday evening. "See you at the Monumental Stadium." The crowd that met him there, drums and banners included, had already been waiting long enough.
Colo Colo announced the signing of Josimar Évora Dias — known universally as Vozinha — on July 24. Documentation problems and personal matters pushed his arrival back on three separate occasions, turning what should have been a clean piece of transfer business into a slow-burning saga. He landed at 8:35 p.m. local time. The saga is over.
What he's actually signing up for
The deal is six months with an option for a further 12 — a sensible structure for a keeper who turned 40 this year and is coming from Portugal's second division with Chaves. Colo Colo aren't gambling recklessly here. They're buying a phenomenon with a shelf life, and they know it.
Medical examinations are scheduled for Monday, contract signing to follow, training from Tuesday. The club also plans a formal presentation that same day — they'll want the cameras rolling for that one.
One small but telling detail: the Chilean Football Federation had to amend its regulations specifically to allow Vozinha to wear his nickname on his jersey. Under league rules, players display only their surnames. The federation voted unanimously to change that. You don't rewrite rulebooks for journeymen.
The World Cup numbers that changed everything
To understand why a 40-year-old goalkeeper playing second-division football in Portugal is arriving in Chile to airport scenes more commonly reserved for pop stars, you need to remember what happened at the World Cup. Vozinha kept Spain — the eventual champions — scoreless. He made spectacular saves against Uruguay and Lionel Messi's Argentina before Cape Verde were eliminated in the Round of 32. He became the oldest player to appear in a national team's debut game at the tournament.
Before the World Cup: fewer than 50,000 Instagram followers. Now: 29.5 million. That's the kind of number that moves transfer markets.
For Colo Colo, who are already runaway leaders of the Chilean Primera División, this signing is less about shoring up a weakness and more about adding momentum to a title push with continental consequences. Win the league, and the Copa Libertadores follows. "Next year comes the Copa Libertadores, which makes everything even more exciting for all of Chile and South America," said fan Marcos Antonio Barrera, 32, at the airport — and he's not wrong to connect those dots.
Whether Vozinha can deliver at this level after years in Portugal's second tier is a genuine question. The World Cup proved his reflexes and nerve hold up on the biggest stage. A domestic league run-in is a different test. Colo Colo's title odds look solid regardless — but if the keeper stumbles, that Libertadores dream gets complicated fast.
"Now he has to earn his place at Colo Colo through talent, dedication, hard work, commitment, and by winning over the fans," supporter Sebastián Paredes put it plainly. That's the job. The welcome party is done.
