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Vozinha, the breakout goalkeeper of the World Cup with Cape Verde, will be able to use the nickname that brought him world fame once he joins Chilean soccer.
This was decided unanimously on Friday by the Board of Presidents of the National Professional Soccer Association (ANFP), although questions are increasingly growing regarding the eventual arrival of the goalkeeper, who was announced a week ago as a new signing for Colo Colo.
The top executives of the Chilean teams accepted the request from the 'albo' club and supported the petition for Josimar José Evora Dias to be able to keep his nickname, Vozinha, on his jersey, thus changing the regulation that lays the foundation for the Chilean league, according to which players can only be identified by their surnames.
Colo Colo, the team with the most titles in the South American country, announced the signing of the Cape Verdean goalkeeper last Friday and expected to receive him on Tuesday. After an initial delay due to visa issues, the 40-year-old goalkeeper was scheduled to land in the Chilean capital the day before. However, he never boarded the plane, sounding the alarm for both the club and the fans.
Seven days later and faced with growing concerns, the club's director, Jaime Pizarro, came out to say the agreement is still in effect. "We have been in conversation with his representative until a few minutes ago," he told reporters on Thursday night.
According to the director, Vozinha's arrival was postponed because "an additional period has been requested to resolve some personal situations." He did not specify what those situations would be.
During the ANFP meeting, Colo Colo president Aníbal Mosa reportedly acknowledged that the contract with Vozinha had not yet been signed and that the use of his nickname was one of the conditions for him to accept the deal, according to details of the meeting leaked to the local press.
Chilean soccer thus remains in suspense awaiting confirmation.
Fernando Ortiz, the Argentine coach of the 'Cacique', backed the club's directors on Friday and detailed that he has been in conversations with the African goalkeeper, although he was somewhat more cautious and avoided taking his arrival for granted.
"We talked, we had a dialogue, and I saw him happy, content. While he is not very expressive, he is happy with the possibility of being here; obviously, he has his personal issues," said Ortiz in a press conference. "Perhaps the anxiety that one generates by having such a figure in our soccer is understandable. Let's hope he can resolve his situation soon and that we can count on him."
So far, Vozinha has not commented on the signing or Chile despite intense activity on social media. Local media have asserted that the goalkeeper may have received offers from other clubs. The Cape Verdean shared an enigmatic photo one day after his failed landing in South America.
The goalkeeper who won over the world with his spectacular saves in the recently concluded World Cup posted an image of his gloves and a ball on the pitch of Club Oriental de Lisboa, in the fourth division of Portugal.
Ortiz said he was calm: "Things are being done as they should be," he emphasized.
The coach also referred to the scarcity of signings for Colo Colo for the remainder of the season, as the African goalkeeper is the only reinforcement announced so far for the second half of the year. "I say what our president said: bringing players just for the sake of it is not something we are desperate to do," he declared. "I am happy and content with the squad I have."
[Publicidad]