a prolific striker, nicknamed "nacho", he moved in italy in 2001 to join serie d club brindisi, offering a massive contribution to their promotion to serie c2 thanks to 15 goals in 23 matches. despite this, he was not initially allowed to try his luck into professional football due to his lack of a european union passport, and consequently opted to join apulian serie d side nardò, where he scored 17 goals. in 2003, he left nardò for vigor lamezia, where he scored an impressive 24 goals in 32 matches.