He arrived at the tournament barely known outside African football. He left as one of its most recognisable figures, having accumulated almost 30 million Instagram followers.
The Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha has since found out some of the downsides.
Vozinha says that he has lost much of the privacy and tranquillity he enjoyed before the tournament. Eating in a restaurant without being approached has become difficult, strangers film him when he is outside, and supporters regularly gather outside his mother’s home in Cape Verde.
It is a transformation that he admits he would reverse if he had the opportunity – given the choice between his present life and the relative anonymity he enjoyed previously, he would choose the latter.
His rise to global prominence was extraordinarily rapid.
Vozinha entered the World Cup with around 50,000 Instagram followers, but his performance in Cape Verde’s opening 0-0 draw with Spain changed that almost overnight. He made seven saves as the tournament debutants frustrated one of international football’s traditional powers.
By the end of that match, his following had reportedly approached two million. As Cape Verde’s unexpected World Cup adventure continued, the numbers kept climbing.
Further draws against Saudi Arabia and Uruguay helped Cape Verde reach the knockout stages before Argentina eventually eliminated them after extra time in the last 32.
By the end of the tournament, Vozinha had around nearly 30 million followers.
The consequences have not all been unwelcome. His performances earned him a move to Colo-Colo, Chile’s most successful club, while a newly identified species of sea slug has even been named after him.
Commercial opportunities inevitably followed as well. Vozinha says numerous companies expressed an interest in working with him during the World Cup, although he largely avoided promotional activity while Cape Verde remained in the competition.
He has also drawn some boundaries around his new commercial appeal, saying that he does not want to promote tobacco, alcohol or betting companies.
But, for a footballer who spent much of his career far from the global spotlight, however, the biggest adjustment has been personal rather than professional.
The World Cup made Vozinha famous, but whether his life is better for it is a very different question.
