Dempo Sports Club are attempting an ambitious bid for Ariel Ortega, ex-Argentine superstar who enjoyed more th... Read More

PANAJI: Dempo Sports Club are attempting an ambitious bid for Ariel Ortega, the former Argentine superstar who enjoyed more than a decade at the summit of world football and, at his peak, was counted among the world's biggest entertainer.

Ortega eventually self-destructed and at 36, remains unwanted back home. He has fallen out of favour with his boyhood club River Plate, was loaned to little-known Club Atletico All Boys and consistently had to fight personal demons, including a well-documented drinking problem.

But, despite all of his shortcomings and the fact that he is now past his prime, Dempo believe Ortega will be a cut above the rest in India where unknown footballers, mostly from Nigeria, are calling the shots and laughing their way to the bank.

"There is this option available for us that we could sign Ortega. We are excited but it's still early to say if things will work out the way we want," Dempo coach-cum-secretary Armando Colaco told TOI on Friday.

Despite his superstar status, Ortega - widely acknowledged as heir to Maradona when he debuted at the 1994 World Cup in the United States - will not be the most expensive footballer in India. According to those in the know, he could even come cheaper than what Mohun Bagan paid for Odafe Okolie .