Football: Garforth Town? It's just like watching BRAZIL! SOCRATES, ZICO & CARECA SWAP RIO FOR YORKSHIRE.
Byline: David ANDERSONSAMBA superstars Zico and Careca have agreed to come to England to join their old pal Socrates and play for non-league Garforth Town.
Garforth (it's near Leeds and they play in the Northern Counties East League Division One) have done what every big English club dreamt of doing in the 1980s.
The club's ambitious owner and manager Simon Clifford has managed to persuade Brazilian football giants Zico and Careca to come out of retirement and pull on their boots once more.
Clifford, who has extensive contacts in Brazil through the Samba Soccer Schools which he runs in England, agreed a deal with Socrates earlier this week to come over as player-coach and now he has landed two more of South America's biggest names.
Zico thrilled a generation of fans all over the world with his sublime skills, while Careca was Brazil's top scorer with five goals in the 1986 Mexico World Cup.
Clifford knows both men and he claims the 44-year-old Careca has promised that he will come over to play for Garforth next season.
And Clifford added that 51-year-old Zico, who is the coach of Japan, had also given him his word that he would line up for the club a couple of times next year.
To put it mildly, Garforth are rarely packed out at their 3,000-capacity Wheatley Park ground, but Clifford claims there has been an upsurge in interest since he announced the signings of the Brazilians.
The middle-aged trio are hardly in the prime of their careers, but Clifford hopes they will still entertain the crowd and teach his players a trick or two.
"Careca has told me he will come over and play next season and Zico has told me he is going to try his best to play for Garforth," he said.
"Last year we had about 50 people watching but that's gone up to about 500 now. Since we announced Socrates was coming and Zico and Careca could be on their way, we've had calls from Japan and the USA.
"It's incredible and we've even got people wanting to buy Garforth Town shirts for the first time."
Socrates, who captained Brazil at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, will be the first to arrive next month and he has agreed to play a couple of games for free.
The chain-smoking midfielder has agreed a short-term contract to coach and play and is due to make his debut against division leaders Tadcaster Albion on November 20, just a day after he is due to arrive from Sao Paulo.
Socrates, now 50, retired 14 years ago, but Clifford claims he is still in good physical shape, despite the cigarettes.
"I put out a few feelers through my contacts in Brazil and Socrates said he would be interested," he said. "He's a principled guy and isn't interested in the money - which is just as well because we're not paying him!
"I'm told he's still in good shape, although he's still smoking. I'm pretty strict on discipline and smoking, but I guess I can make an exception for him."
Clifford also tried to sign 1994 World Cup winners Romario and Bebeto, but talks broke down because they asked for money to play.
Clifford had more success in landing former England winger Lee Sharpe last week and he has big plans for his Garforth part-timers.
Tongue firmly in cheek, he said: "It's all part of my plan to get us into the Premiership by 2025. Leeds only has one side and I want to make sure they have two in the not-too-distant future."
CAPTION(S):
CARNIVAL TIME: Socrates (above) Zico (right) and Careca (below) are coming to Garforth
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| Title Annotation: | Sport |
|---|---|
| Publication: | The Mirror (London, England) |
| Date: | Oct 28, 2004 |
| Words: | 614 |
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