Walter Finch
A LOWLY fourth-tier football club on the Costa del Sol could have a legendary Brazilian mega star walk through its doors next season.
CD Estepona, which plays in the Segunda Federacion – some 80 places below Jude Bellingham and Real Madrid – have lined up none other than Ronaldo Nazario as their new sporting director.
The original Ronaldo recently announced his intention to sell his majority stake in Real Valladolid with the club poised for promotion to La Liga.
According to Spanish sports journalist Angel Garcia, Ronaldo’s next move is likely to be Estepona, where he would spearhead the club’s sporting direction.
And he’ll be joined by ex Brazil and Real Madrid teammates Roberto Carlos and Julio Baptista.
Juan Jose Hidalgo, who bought CD Estepona two seasons ago, is reportedly close friends with ‘El Fenomeno’ from his first season at Real Madrid in the Galacticos era back in 2002.
The Spanish outlet El Cierre Digital have reported that Hidalgo ‘is trying to put CD Estepona on the rise through a large investment, with the intention of advancing his real estate businesses in Estepona.’
They continue that he is seeking the favour of the Estepona mayor Jose Garcia Urbano in order to win the right to build on undeveloped land in the in-demand municipality.
But any way you slice it, bringing in Ronaldo – the only player to line up for both Real Madrid and Barcelona and still be revered by both clubs’ fans – would be an incredible coup for Estepona.
Along side him will be two other legends of Brazilian football in Julio Baptista, who will serve as coach, and hydraulic-thighs Roberto Carlos, who will be Baptista’s assistant.
Baptista, a former Real Madrid, Arsenal, Roma, and Malaga player, is a close friend of Ronaldo and has expressed his confidence in Carlos as his second-in-command.
Legendary left-back Carlos has so far enjoyed a brief but promising coaching career.
He worked as assistant coach at the now-defunct Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala and has also held head coaching positions at Sivasspor, Akhisar Belediye, and Delhi Dynamos.
