By: Cesar Blanco Fajardo / VozdeGuanacaste – Two Nicoyans are among the competitors on a new reality TV show “This is Soccer.” The show’s technical director is the former Saprissa player Walter “Paté” Centeno. It is featured on channel nine and began on March 9; it will consist of twelve episodes.
Among more than 700 contenders from the entire country, only 23 youths were chosen to participate in the program, and two of those are Nicoyans. Luis Ruiz Díaz, at 15 years old, is from La Mansion, and Roger Mora, 17, is from the Guadalupe neighborhood.
“The boys live in a house in San Jose, where they have nutritionists, a chef and a gym to build their muscles. In addition, Walter is training them daily with very demanding drills,” Leonardo Medina, producer of the show, explained to The Voice.
The program will end in June; before then, Centeno will have chosen eleven young men to form his “Great Eleven.” The team will play a final game against a club that is still to be determined. Finally, the ex-World Cup player (Centeno played in Korea & Japan in 2002 and Germany in 2006) will take three players to do an internship with a team in Europe or South America, where they could be signed if they’re able to impress.
To get to know the Nicoyans better, look for the April print edition of The Voice of Guanacaste.
