Never one to shirk a tackle when playing for CD Tenerife, Pier Cherubinho is showing the same dogged determination in his quest to become President of the club he loves. Barring a late landslide of   share holder votes he looked certain to lose out to long serving rival Miguel Concepcion but was already planning a December challenge.

The 44 year old, born in Rome but raised in Puerto de la Cruz played 137 games for the blanquiazul and has been the fans choice in the election. Meeting with the Armada Sur and small share holders at the Gaelic Corner in Playa de Las Americas, he was signing up late pledges of support but warned it was a near impossible task as Concepcion has squeezed out every last favour and remaining loyalty from his backers. However the momentum gained by Pier in this campaign will drive him on to build towards a December challenge to cut short Concepcion’s planned five year extension.

Pier made a point of speaking to small groups among the large crowd and did well to get his message across to our Armada Sur contingent originating from the UK, Sweden, and Holland. Battling the live band next door he dismissed any suggestions of working with his rival as he felt it needed a new approach after the old regime had failed to change over 10 years in office. There was a clear passion about Pier and his willingness to come to see us echoed his view that the club has abandoned the south of the island. Another criticism was the clubs stance on dealing with only big sponsorships at the expense of many smaller companies that would like to get involved.

Tapping into local talent was another popular theme with Pier, he wants a squad of mainly locally raised players with just a few outside signings that can make a difference, not imports to just make up the numbers. The clubs coaching staff would also include many ex players passing on their passion for the shirt as well as expertise. Marketing would be cranked up with a local company lined up to explore opportunities all over Tenerife and involving promotions through the big hotel chains of the south. Even during this current election campaign the club has been forced to show signs of recognizing the fans longing for new ideas. However for Pier it doesn’t go far enough and he is ready to take this game into extra time to get the best result for the fans.