Vozinha's contract with Chaves ended on June 30, and the 40-year-old goalkeeper now goes into Cabo Verde's next World Cup match as a free agent. The timing matters because he is still in the tournament and still drawing attention after his role in the draw against España.
Dante Elizalde said Chaves would welcome Vozinha back if he wants to return, but the club has also told him to look for the option that best fits his interests. In plain terms, that means he can leave for a better deal if one appears, even as his performances have made him one of Cabo Verde's standout figures.
Elizalde framed the situation as both a sporting and personal one. Vozinha, he said, is a professional who deserves what is happening to him and has long dreamed of facing Argentina in this World Cup. That is the match he is heading into now, with no club contract tying him down and no decision yet on where he will play after the tournament.
The background to that move is simple. Chaves, which is in the second division of Portugal, is keeping its doors open, but Vozinha is not being boxed in. He is 40, his deal expired on June 30, and the club has effectively given him permission to weigh a return against any better offer elsewhere. For a player at this stage of his career, that freedom carries real value.
There is also a wider football argument behind the praise. Elizalde said Cabo Verde's success is not about Vozinha alone but about a squad formed and hardened in Europe, with players competing in leagues of major prestige there. That, he said, is what explains the level Cabo Verde has shown, including the result against España and the belief that the team can trouble Argentina. The next step belongs to Vozinha: he can go back to Chaves, but only if the terms suit him better than the offers that may now follow.
