Dante Vanzeir Talks About His Time with Union and Life in New York with a Smile

He is not yet recognized there, “unless it happened to be a Red Bull fan”. But to say that he lives there nicely is an understatement. Dante Vanzeir (25), who prefers not to talk about the racism incident anymore, shows the view from his apartment near New York with a smile during our video call.

ODBS

3 jun. 2023

Latest update:
14:05

Vanzeir made the switch to New York Red Bulls in February, but when he talks about Union from that metropolis, he still speaks of ‘we’. “I am no longer a Union player, but I still feel connected to those guys, that club. I had a very nice time there. I’m also still in a WhatsApp group with the ‘flamands’, the Flemings. Van der Heyden, Lynen and Boonen, where something is regularly submitted. I still have regular contact, yes.”

With ten goals, Vanzeir has certainly had a share in a possible title. But he doesn’t want to take that honor. “I don’t want to take that away from the boys. I made my contribution in the first part of the season. But the second half of the season was actually much tougher. In Europe, and then also perform like this in the competition. Fantastic!”

On Sunday, Vanzeir will fully support his ex-teammates. The striker does not want to speak of a bitter feeling when winning for the people of Brussels. “I’d be lying if it didn’t affect me, everyone wants to experience such moments. But that feeling will not dominate, it will be more joy. It would just be deserved if they made it. The team has become more experienced. After the defeat at KV Mechelen (3-0, edit) I felt a click within the team. And that has evolved. Union has fantastic qualities, with guys who have stepped up in recent months and added value.”

The switch for Vanzeir to New York at the beginning of this year was not easy. “It was difficult to estimate. Weighing and weighing. You make a list, what are the scenarios. The season at Union was already great and could get even better. But suppose we lost a few games… you were kind of in between those two waters. In the end I made the choice for the future. I wanted a new challenge and it came here in America. Another big factor was that the competition in America started at the end of February and I wanted to join at the start. If it had been a European team, I would have waited until after the season anyway.”