FC Westchester alum Andre Borges has signed a one-year contract with CR Vasco da Gama, a Rio de Janeiro-based team that competes in Brazil's first division. Borges will play for the reknown former Brazilian World Cup star Romário, who is Vasco da Gama’s player/ manager.

For Borges, who played for the FC Westchester ’82 Boys under FC Westchester founder Al Pastore, getting a chance to work with Romário is the latest highlight in a professional career that began shortly after his playing days at Clemson University in South Carolina. He was a starter his final two seasons at Clemson and helped the Tigers make the NCAA tournament each of his four years, including a pair of Elite 8 appearances.

"Clemson was a fantastic experience," Borges told the Journal-News. "It's a huge sports school. We had professional facilities, and I played against the best competition in the country, and we had numerous national team members. That helped me develop a lot."

After graduating from Clemson in 2004, Borges took a step back. "I kind of took some time and sat back and tried to realize what I wanted to do," said Borges, in a Journal-News article.. "Three or four months later, I realized I wanted to play. That's when I decided to give it a shot."

That shot started with Borges heading over to Ireland, where he earned a spot on the Dublin-based Bohemian Football Club in the Irish Premier League thanks to FC Westchester Director of Coaching Sean Kenny. From there, he tried out for clubs in Hungary and Portugal, but was unable to finalize contract agreements. After being invited to a tryout, Borges signed a one-year contract with CR Vasco da Gama in July.