FORMER Zimbabwe international football star Harlington Shereni believes that Tino Kadewere has all the attributes to succeed in the French League where he will be featuring for Ligue 1 giants Olympique Lyonnais, commonly known as Lyon.
BY HENRY MHARA
Shereni, who played in France for six years, turning out for Guingamp and Nantes between 2003 and 2010 when he retired from football, has predicted that the 24-year-old has the potential to be one of the best strikers to ever emerge from Zimbabwe.
The 44-year-old Chiredzi-born former leftback has 23 national team caps.
Kadewere signed a four-year deal with Lyon in January, coming from Ligue 2 side Le Havre where he had impressed after scoring 20 goals from 24 appearances to land the league’s top goalscorers award.
Speaking to NewsDay Sport yesterday, Shereni said he was happy that more Zimbabweans were joining the top football leagues in the world, and had no doubts that Tino would shine in Ligue 1, regarded as one of the best five leagues worldwide.
“When it comes to his play, he has got very good runs as a striker. He goes into those positions where you normally expect strikers to score goals from,” Shereni said.
“Tino is very quick and that helps him to get away from defenders. He also has good height and his technical ability is quite good, so overally he is not a striker that depends on one aspect of his game. So I feel that he will do well at Lyon because technically, speedwise and his vision of the game is very good as well.”
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Shereni has been in constant contact with Kadewere since he moved to France, giving the former Harare City player tips and advice.
He revealed that Le Havre inquired from him before they signed Kadewere from Swedish side Djurgårdens IF two years ago.
“Before Le Havre signed him, I was given a call where they wanted to find out what kind of a player he was and I gave a good word for him. That’s a good buy they got and they sold him at a very good price as well. They made good business out of him.”
Le Havre are reported to have shelled US$2,5 million to sign Kadewere on a four-year contract in July 2018 before selling him for over US$15 million just over a year later.
“I always speak to Tino and he is a good kid. He is somebody who is level-headed and he will do well if he keeps on with the same attitude and dedication. I think he will be one of the top strikers to come out of Zimbabwe,” Shereni said.
Kadewere signed for Lyon in January and was loaned back to Le Havre to finish off the season, which was, however, brought to a premature end by the coronavirus.
He was officially unveiled by his new club last week. The former Prince Edward High School student has started training with Lyon as they prepare for their titanic Uefa Champions League round of 16 clash with Christiano Ronaldo’s Juventus.
The French side has a 1-0 advantage from the first leg that was played in Paris.
Lyon are also set to clash with Neymar’s PSG in the French Cup final.
Lyon said the Warriors striker would be eligible to feature in the two blockbuster matches.
