admin
Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
BILL Antonio will have to work even harder before he can break into the Belgian top-flight football after signing a two-year deal with KV Mechelen two days ago.
The former Dynamos winger, who turned 20 last week, has been thrown into the club’s Under-23 team which competes in the Belgian fourth-tier. Antonio impressed during a three-week trial period last month and the Belgian team, which has strong links with Dynamos, subsequently acquired him.
He is, however, not going to walk straight into the top-flight with the club feeling the former Dzivarasekwa Academy player needed some time to develop before he can compete at the highest level.
They are, however, sure of his potential given what he showed during his audition which has prompted the KV Mechelen hierarchy to also ask Dynamos to ready more players for potential switch to the European country.
In announcing this development, KV Mechelen sporting director, Tom Caluwé, was full of praise for the former Prince Edward pupil.
“Bill Antonio is no stranger to Mechelen. This summer, he already came to do an internship with us. In this, he was able to convince the sporting cell.
“Bill (Antonio) is a fast right wing with an action in the feet. To integrate, he will play with our Under-23 at the beginning of his stay,” Caluwe said.
And Dynamos executive chairman, Isaiah Mupfurutsa, yesterday revealed the club is targeting to transfer more players to the European market following Antonio’s breakthrough.
“Bill Antonio has been signed by KV Mechelen. In 2019, Dynamos started a relationship with KV Mechelen. We had their consultants who came to Zimbabwe and we had some technical people who came here through the efforts of those consultants.
“That was the time we started cultivating that relationship. And this is the start of big things to come. We want to use that relationship to move players to the European market,” said Mupfurutsa.
“We have made it very clear as Dynamos that we will be targeting the European market. There are several other teams in Europe which we are negotiating with to have a relationship with and we are making in-roads.
“We also signed a co-operation idea with Prince Edward and the idea was Dynamos would be taking talented players from there. We have got a working relationship with PE and Bill was on loan at Dynamos where he signed his first professional contract. As Dynamos, we are very proud to have facilitated such a big deal.”
In fact, Antonio was signed by KV Mechelen from Prince Edward Academy, not from Dynamos. The youngster was on loan at Dynamos and the loan deal was set to expire in December 2022.
Part of the statement from KV Mechelen reads: “Antonio comes over from the PE Academy in Harare and played his matches on loan at Dynamos FC Harare. He also made his debut for the (Zimbabwe) national team last year.”
Belgium-based former Warriors defender Cephas Chimedza hailed the move by Antonio and predicted the youngster could scale dizzy heights if he retains his work ethic.
“I understand, he (Bill) is going to play first in the fourth-tier and it’s a completely different world there.
“They are a development team but playing against grown-ups who are not as talented so it’s a big challenge on its own,” said Chimedza.
Asked why Antonio didn’t walk straight into the KV Mechelen first team, Chimedza said they might have felt he was a good player but with some gaps.
“For their reason, I don’t have an idea, I can only assume they felt he is a good player but not yet ready but at the same time they can’t let him go. It’s still a good way.”
Antonio seems to have matured early given he only made his debut at the highest level in this country’s football echelons last year when he was loaned to Dynamos by PE Academy.
He has since scored three goals and has two assists to his name in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League after playing in 19 games.
Antonio could make his name like what outgoing Warriors captain Knowledge Musona, Chimedza, Marvelous Nakamba and Moses ”Bambo” Chunga did in Belgium.
Online Reporter