Anyone who played Championship Manager or Football Manager back in the day will be familiar with Javier Saviola.
In fact, anyone who has kept up to date with real-life football since the turn of the century will at least have heard the Argentina international’s name.
The former River Plate youngster, once a team-mate of Juan Pablo Angel and Pablo Aimar in his home country, has done the rounds since moving to Europe with Barcelona in 2001.
Since then, the forward has played – and scored – for Monaco, Sevilla, Real Madrid, Benfica, Málaga, Olympiacos and Verona, as well as turning out for his country at the 2006 World Cup.
But his latest move couldn’t have been predicted by too many people. Now 34 years of age, Saviola has rocked up at Andorran club FC Ordino in a coaching role.
Saviola during his Olympiacos days (Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)
Ordino finished sixth of eight clubs in last season’s Andorran Primera Divisió, and have enlisted the help of Saviola to initially help with their youth and reserve teams, Marca reports.
None of their crowds this season – home or away – will be greater than 1,500: that’s the size of the largest club stadium in the European principality. In fact, the population of Andorra – just over 85,000 – would fit into Barcelona’s Camp Nou with space to spare.
The club reportedly hopes he will eventually move on to work with the first team, which is managed by Miguel Ángel Lozano – a former Barcelona youngster who floated around La Liga and the Spanish lower-leagues during a playing career which has lasted more than two decades.
Saviola retired from football after ending his second River Plate spell in January, but Mundo Deportivo reports that a playing return is not completely out of the question.
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