BY FORTUNE MBELE
Warriors forward Tino Kadewere has paid tribute to fans for rallying behind him as he continues to make headlines in the French Ligue 1 for his club Olympique Lyonnais.
The former Harare City forward joined the club at the start of the season and has hit the ground running in his debut season, scoring nine goals in 20 appearances.
The prolific start to his career at the French giants has earned him praise including from Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.
In a video posted on his Twitter account, Kadewere paid homage to the fans, especially those back home in Zimbabwe.
“I want to say thank you for the support and I am happy that you are always there with me. I am happy that you have now grown to support my new club especially the fans in Zimbabwe. I am happy that you now support OL (Olympique Lyonnais). I hope that we are going to make you proud and always make you happy. We will try to win all the games so that you guys will be happy because I know that is what you want and believe. I know you want me to do well and progress well at OL. I am hoping that I will do that and keep on pushing hard,” Kadewere said.
Probably stung by missing a Twitter support message from Benzema before Lyon’s Rhone-Alpes derby match against Saint-Etienne on Sunday, Kadewere opened his own account on Tuesday.
In just one hour, he had attracted over 10 000 followers and by yesterday morning the number had doubled.
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Lyonnais posted a video on Twitter immediately after Kadewere opened his account and said: “He is feeling the love after his #ASSEOL brace — and @Tino_Kadewere_ has a message for you.”
The 24-year-old netted a brace, his second in the league, in the 5-0 drubbing of Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
Pre-match, Benzema, who plays for Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid had posted a support message for his former club.
He also singled out Kadewere for praise, urging the Warriors star to continue with his scoring form for the club.
Wrote Benzema: “Lyonnais tonight you can make a whole city proud and happy. We are all behind you, and Tino keep making your dreams come true.”
Kadewere said he was touched by the message, adding that his dream is to play with Benzema in the near future.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have Twitter (account), but if I had seen this before the game, then I’m sure I would have scored more goals because getting a tweet from such a big player and someone I look up to really gives me motivation, so I’m really happy that one of the strikers that made me sign for Lyon is following my progress and happy with what I’m doing. That gives me confidence also and I really want to thank him for the belief and the support,” Kadewere said.
Lyon are third on the log-table with 43 points, two behind joint leaders Paris Saint Germain and Lille. They host Bordeaux tomorrow with a chance to go top of the log.
Follow Fortune on Twitter @fmbele
