BY MAURICIO SAVARESE
MESQUITA, Brazil (AP) — América, a once-great soccer club in northern Rio de Janeiro, was recently on the verge of folding due to years of mismanagement.
But then its most famous fan decided to come back from retirement at the age of 58. He brought sponsors, rebuilt part of the club’s decrepit stadium, removed the weeds from the pitch, signed new players and came up with a plan to make it as mighty as it once was.
World Cup-winning striker Romário, now also a senator/lawmaker, became president of his boyhood club earlier this year not only to save it, but also to play a few matches for the Rio state’s second division side with his 30-year-old son Romarinho.
Romário, the former Brazil, PSV and Barcelona striker, gathered a group of five top managers, including one who is not that interested in soccer. They helped to revive the
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