Zinho Vanheusden can finally call himself a player of AZ. The 22-year-old central defender is on loan from Internazionale for one season with an option to buy. After the arrival of Mees de Wit, Jens Odgaard and Mayckel Lahdo, Vanheusden is the fourth summer addition to the Alkmaarders.
“I am super happy,” says Vanheusden on the AZ website. “It took a few weeks, but that I’m here now with my family, that makes me super relieved. I can’t wait until I can start,” says the Belgian who played one international match. “Contact with Max Huiberts started a few months ago and that showed a lot of confidence. AZ is the right team for me.”
“Actually he has all the qualities you want to see in a central defender”
Trainer Pascal Jansen has plenty of options in the center of the defense with the arrival of Vanheusden. Max Huiberts, director of football affairs, had been targeting him for some time, but now the deal was sealed. “Zinho is very used to shifting the game from the build-up with his passing and his dribbling. In addition, he is agile and fast. He can also head well. In fact, he has all the qualities you want to see from a central defender.”
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Career
Vanheusden went through the youth academy of Standard Liège and left for Internazionale after seven seasons in 2015. In Milan, he was on the bench several times in Serie A matches.
In 2018, Vanheusden was leased to Standard Luik, which bought him back. In two seasons, he played 76 games for the ruffles. Internazionale brought him back to Italy two years later and leased him to Genoa. There he played 14 league matches and 2 cup matches. On October 8, 2020, he made his debut for Belgium in a friendly against Ivory Coast. That is his only international match so far.
AZ will play the return in the Conference League against Tuzla City on Thursday at 8.30 pm. At home, the Alkmaarders won 1-0. With a win over two matches, AZ qualifies for the third preliminary round of the European tournament.
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