Eddie Chikamhi
Senior Sports Reporter
WARRIORS skipper Knowledge Musona says he is enjoying his time at Belgian Pro-League side KAS Eupen where he has managed to reignite the spark in his European football career.
Musona, who is currently on loan at the Pandas from Belgian giants Anderlecht, says he feels loved at Eupen and has been working hard to repay the faith invested in him by the club’s manager, Benat San José.
The 30-year-old has underlined his importance in the squad by featuring in almost every league game for KAS Eupen this season. He has missed only one of the team’s 19 outings after suffering injury last week.
The Zimbabwe skipper has scored four goals and contributed two assists on his second loan spell at the club this season.
His loan deal, however, is set to expire in June and Musona is not sure if he will return to his parent club Anderlecht after striking good form in a new midfield role at the Pandas.
“Will I get my chance at Anderlecht next summer? I don’t know, who knows?” said Musona at a press conference.
“At the moment I’m not thinking about RSC Anderlecht. I’m only focusing on AS Eupen. I feel really good here, I am absolutely appreciated.
“I do my best for the team and the club. We still have a few months before we have to deal with the future. At the moment my heart is here in Eupen. At the end of the season there is always a solution, we’ll see,” added Musona.
The Zimbabwean forward has recovered from a bout of coronavirus that recently infected 18 members of the club, leading to the postponement of their fixtures.
Most of the Eupen players spent the Christmas and New Year holidays in isolation but the club has reported the worst is over following the recovery of all the affected personnel.
“After a long time, all the players are healthy again. The latest tests have shown that there are currently no more Covid-19 infected persons in the KAS Eupen team,” said Jose ahead of last week’s rescheduled league clash with Genk.
Unfortunately, Musona was injured in the match against Genk following a clash with goalkeeper Danny Vukovic and had to be replaced early in the 27th minute.
He was not on the line-up for the first time this season when he missed the 2-1 win against Cercle Brugge at the weekend.
The striker arrived from another Belgian top-flight club Anderlecht, on a temporary loan deal in the second half of last term, to provide Jose with more attacking options.
Musona, who had previously featured for KV Oostende, impressed in his seven appearances for the Pandas — scoring twice before the season was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Before the loan deal was assured, Musona had been tipped for a return to the South African Premier Soccer League with Mamelodi Sundowns and former club Kaizer Chiefs showing interest to land the veteran hitman.
However, Musona indicated that he still wanted to pursue his football career in Europe. His contract with Anderlecht will expire in June.
After recovering from the loss of form and the frustrations he encountered at Anderlecht, Musona has quietly been working his way back to the top. The 30-year-old helped the struggling Pandas to a 13th-place finish last term.
The forward has been in good shape for both club and country following his contributions to the Warriors campaign in the ongoing 2021 AFCON qualifiers.
He has provided two assists in four qualifying games and recently scored a gem of a goal from a free-kick in the 2-2 draw against African champions Algeria.
He also scored twice from the dead ball situations against Zulte Waregem in the Belgian Pro-League recently to further boost his confidence.
Meanwhile, another Warriors forward Tino Kadewere featured in Olympique Lyon’s 2-2 draw against Rennes. Kadewere played 68 minutes before he was replaced by Ryan Cherki as Lyon staged a dramatic comeback from two goals down to extend their unbeaten run to 16 games.
Lyon maintained their place at the top of the table with 40 points, one ahead of the expensively assembled Paris Saint Germain, who are now under the guidance of former Tottenham Hotspur manager, Mauricio Pochettino.
Zimbabwean midfielder Marshall Munetsi was also involved in the French Ligue 1 at the weekend when his side Stade de Reims béat Saint Etienne 3-1. The combative midfielder came in as a 55th minute replacement.
Reims are currently 14th on the log standings, as the French Ligue 1 season reaches its half-way stage.