After winning plaudits across the globe for his World Cup performances with Cape Verde, goalkeeper Vozinha has another honour – with a newly discovered species of sea slug being named after him.
The small red mollusc was discovered by biologist Jesus Ortea in the Caribbean, and he opted to name it after the 40-year-old star of the tiny nation’s campaign.
It now has the name Aldisa vozinha.
Cape Verde are the second smallest nation to ever reach the World Cup finals. Having come through the group stage they took holders Argentina all the way before exiting the competition with a 3-2 extra-time defeat in the last 32.
Before then, Vozinha’s heroics had seen them claim their first World Cup point in a goalless draw with European champions Spain.
In a report outlining his discovery, external, Ortea said he wanted to mark Vozinha’s “prominent role” and pointed out it also came against a team nicknamed La Roja – The Red One.
“The red colour of the dedicated species is a reminder of his feat,” his report added.
Vozinha’s performance in that game saw his fame explode overnight, and his 50,000 Instagram followers ballooned to 17.4 million – more than athletes such as NFL legend Tom Brady.
Ortea, professor emeritus at the University of Oviedo, was awarded a Medal of Merit by the island nation in 2023 for his work in the waters around Cape Verde.
It was not the first time the 75-year-old football fan has combined his passions, though.
Ortea previously named a discovery found in Costa Rica after Keylor Navas, the country’s former goalkeeper who also played for Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Nottingham Forest.
And a tiny creature which had the same colours as Spanish side Sporting Gijon was named after the club’s former striker Quini.
