From the green of the lawns to the green of the fields, this former OM player has had an astonishing career change.
All high-level athletes look for career changes once their careers are over and it is not always easy to find one. Footballer, rugby player, basketball player… Depending on the sport, the income generated is not equal and if some athletes can see the future peacefully, for others, they have to find a new job.
For footballers, more than in any other sport, the salaries obtained can make it possible to make certain investments in real estate for example or in young companies in order to enter the active world very quickly. But for many, retraining is quickly found, becoming a coach.
This is the case of a large number of former footballers and if we look at the benches of the different clubs, we will note several former players from Pep Guardiola for Manchester City to Luis Enrique at PSG via Didier Deschamps for the team of France or Eric Roy in Brest.
A former OM player decided to obtain his coaching qualifications to open a new career, but also chose another activity, agriculture. His name: Brandao. The Brazilian, former OM striker, has often been mocked for his offensive performance (in total, from 2009 to 2012, Brandao scored 31 goals in 116 matches with OM), but OM supporters do not will not forget his goal in the final of the League Cup against Bordeaux, that against Inter Milan in the Champions League and especially his famous “I didn’t touch”, a sequence that has become viral on the web and has been diverted many times .
Currently, the Brazilian is in Londrina, a city of half a million inhabitants in the south of his native country. This is where he completed his coaching diploma, coached the U17s and was an assistant to the professional team as explained by Ouest France. He has also applied numerous times to become OM coach, particularly in recent days with the departure of Gattuso.
While waiting to find a job in the football world, Brandao took up farming, more of a hobby than a real profession. He still takes care of the vast agricultural estate of 300 hectares. in which he invested part of the income accumulated during his long career. It showed up on his account instagram in the middle of its soy plantations.
“I stay with my family,” explains the Brazilian. “I watch all the matches, in France, in Brazil, I observe the different coaches… I’m waiting to find something, in Europe or elsewhere.” Brandao kept in touch with OM and recently traveled to France “to see if there were any opportunities”. In particular, he met President Pablo Longoria in Marseille, as well as Director General Stéphane Tessier. “I told them that I was motivated to work first with young people. One day, we will start!”, he hopes.