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Socrates joins non-league Yorkshire team

October 27, 2004 16:43 IST
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Brazilian football ace Socrates is to pull on the famous yellow jersey once more, but this time it will not be for the five-times World Cup winners but for a non-league English team.

The former Brazil captain, who played alongside fellow Latin luminaries Zico and Junior, has agreed to join Garforth Town in the Northern Counties East League.

Teesside businessman and owner of Garforth Simon Clifford persuaded Socrates to join the club -- based in a former pit village near Leeds in Yorkshire -- initially on a month-long deal until December.

"It is a fantastic coup. Our fans will be pinching themselves when they see Socrates running out," he told Britain's Sun newspaper on Wednesday.

Clifford, who names a number of Brazilian soccer players among his friends, owns a string of soccer schools in the South American country.

"I wanted to put the focus on the club (Garforth) so a few weeks ago I started putting out feelers in Brazil," Clifford told The Times. "This is the result."

The 50-year-old Socrates reportedly still has the same slim physique as he did in his prime but Clifford may have to relax his smoking ban as the Brazilian was a heavy smoker even at his peak.

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Source: REUTERS
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