In the summer of 2020, Ajax Amsterdam lost Hakim Ziyech to Chelsea in a €40 million deal. It was not easy, but Ajax were not startled because they already had a replacement ready for the outgoing Moroccan winger.
A 19-year-old Antony Matheus dos Santos from Sao Paulo arrived in Holland for only €13 million before eventually moving to Manchester United for €100 million.
Today, Main Stand will take you through the story of Antony, the Brazilian winger infamous for his double 360-degree spin, and why United decided to spend fortunes for him.
It all started in the Brazilian shack
Most Brazilian footballers often have the same backstory of coming from a favela (slum) and Antony was no different.
Sao Paulo is the largest state in both Brazil and South America. In addition, it has the most significant and influential industrial estate in Brazil. Therefore, it was dubbed the engine of Brazil.
However, in the outskirts of Sao Paulo lies one of the most dangerous favelas in Sao Paolo named Inferninho (Little Hell), where Antony hails.
The apartment complex with small bedrooms where the entire family crammed together is the memory Antony can remember most vividly. But for him, this is where everything began.
The only way he could avert from the path of drug dealers or gangsters in the favela he grew up in was to be a footballer. As a result, he often saw drug dealers, criminals running from the police, and people getting killed near his house.
"Real pressure was when I lived in a favela and left for school at nine in the morning, not sure whether I would be able to eat again until nine in the night. That's some pressure. Otherwise, we can all adapt," he said.
He was very passionate and dedicated to his dream. He became a part of the Sao Paulo youth team when he was 10. Alexandre Passaro, former Sao Paulo FC executive director, had always seen something in him.
"We renewed his contract a few times at Sao Paulo, and every single time he brought his entire family to the signature - his mother, his father, his brother, his sister, everyone. It was always about the family," recalls Passaro.
He has undoubtedly had natural talent since a young age but what's even more than his talent is his dedication and how he has always been very professional.
Usually, Brazilian footballers are mostly very egoistic and relentless, but not Antony. He practiced with the senior team since he was 16-17 years old, but somehow he was moved back to the youth team like they were playing tricks on him.
According to Passaro, that was the plan all along. He wanted to test the patience and attitude of the youth team players all along.
Some took it for granted; consequently, their performance would drop, and they would go back to the bench, resulting in anger. However, Antony always stayed humble.
The real turning point for Antony was when he scored four goals and provided six assists in the final match of the youth national competition.
The board discussed the possibility of calling him to America's pre-season tour, where Ajax and Frankfurt would also be. However, eventually, they decided to put him back on the under-20 side.
"Unlike other kids that refused to go back to the youth side and saw it as a disadvantage, he accepted it right away, even if it meant missing out on a trip that most of the players were looking forward to," said Passaro.
The right choice was to go back to building his foundation and developing his performance. He proved his potential in 2019 after being promoted to the senior team. The 18-year-old, who had become one of the team's leading players, was an instant sensation.
He showed his dribbling skill in 45 matches throughout the season. Although some of the fans commented he held the ball to himself too much, Tite, manager of the Brazilian national team, who has been keeping his eyes on Antony's development, disagreed.
Tite hailed him as "velvet feet'' for his exceptionally smooth handling and told him to keep his dribbles because it is his strongest triad. Not allowing Antony to do what he does best would prove unbeneficial to anyone involved.
After the 2019 season ended, Ajax approached Sao Paulo to discuss buying Antony twice.
The first time was when Antony was 18 years old when Ajax proposed three million euros. But for the second time, the proposition increased to €15 million.
Passoro chose to let Antony go this time because he was sure that Antony was ready for the world to see, and if he could play in the Champion League, Sao Paulo would also profit €19 million.
Passaro let Antony go for a meager price but made sure that in his next transfer, Ajax must also include a 20 percent clause for Sao Paulo.
A diamond waiting to be polished
In Ajax's press conference on introducing Antony in 2020, a Dutch journalist asked Erik ten Hag, then Ajax's manager, whether the 19-year-old Brazilian star could replace Hakim Ziyech.
"For sure, we hope he will be the next star of Ajax," ten Hag replied with confidence.
Although Erik ten Hag talked about this diamond in the rough, he admitted that Antony still had much to develop.
Antony is a left-footed right winger who could not play diversely. Whenever he received the ball, he would always bring the ball to his stronger left, which even Ten Hag thought was "too raw".
"He played for Brazil at U23 level, which is a big deal here, to qualify for the Olympics," Tim Vickery, a South American football guru, explained about Antony when he was playing in Dutch League to Sky Sports.
"Antony had been the first choice throughout the campaign, and for the first time, they dropped him. Why? Because he was playing winger, left-footed, high on the right, and every time, he was slowing them down.
"He was picking up the ball and cutting back into his stronger foot, and he would take away the momentum of the attacks. You were thinking at this point: raw," Vickery added.
"But ten Hag got him and developed him into a quick little winger who can play on either flank, whose decision-making is greatly improved, and who can also work back and put in a bit of a shift."
The issue with many Brazilian players is that they will need to read the game and go by instinct. Luckily, ten Hag vigorously trained Antony since he was 19, and three years later, the Dutch head coach admitted that Antony's journey with him was an incredibly beautiful development.
"He must focus on football,” ten Hag shared at the time. “He was a total threat, but he has to convert that into returns and not worry about frills or flourishes.”
“He has to play more effectively because he had chances to make the last pass. It was clear that he was very dangerous, and on the one hand, I enjoyed his speed, his pressure, the threat of his dribbles, but he could also have got more out of his play.”
He successfully shaped Antony from a player who could only play one-sided to someone who could flank both wings.
The outcome of his shift of methods was that he scored 11 goals in his first season with Ajax and another 12 goals in his second year, helping the team acquire all the victories in domestic leagues. Furthermore, he also became one of the Brazilian national team players.
However, Antony's journey with Ajax ended when Erik ten Hag took him to United for €100 million, becoming the highest transfer fee for an outgoing Dutch League player.
Breaking the record for a top player
Many fans were curious whether a €100 million fee was too much for a Dutch League player.
Tim Vickery explained that the high price was very plausible given his history with ten Hag. It is safe to say that they grew up and have been through many successes together.
The relationship between ten Hag and Antony was the main reason United went all in to acquire Antony in the latest transfer gap. Comparing football to war, Antony is like ten Hag's holy lance.
Vickery added that apart from how ten Hag strategies around Antony, he also knows that Antony can develop even more once he faces more battles in the Premier League.
Metaphorically, ten Hag was sure that he would certainly hit the jackpot, so he gave everything to have Antony on his team.
Ajax knew how much the acquisition matters, for they have seen their relationship all along, making them confident that United was willing to pay.
Apart from their relationship, Vickery commented that Antony's high fee is because United already paid for another Ajax player, Lizandro Martinez, £57 million.
"The benchmark is that they have already gone to Ajax and taken Lisandro Martinez and paid a lot of money for him," Vickery said.
"Now, Antony is a younger player, a more glamorous player, so you can hardly go back to Ajax and say, 'we bought Lisandro Martinez for £60million. (So) can we have Antony for less?
"That's not going to happen. So, if United were going to get him, they would have to spend a lot of money on him."
From the start, Ajax were not intending to sell Antony. They refused United's offers several times. The price kept rising from 80, 85, 90 and 95 million euros.
Financially, they didn't lack anything because they had already made more than €100 million in the transfer market this season by selling Sebastien Haller to Dortmund, Ryan Gravenberch to Bayern Munich, Perr Schuurs to Torino, Nicolas Tagliafico to Lyon and also Lizandro Martinez to Manchester United.
No matter how good they are, losing all the leading players is a disaster with consequences any club doesn't want to face.
Many fans have complained that the board only cares about making money from the market as opposed to the team's success. But when Ajax was offered €100 million, it was hard to refuse, and Antony himself also demanded the club let him go.
Transfer fee is a topic that the fans have always discussed, some are too high, some too cheap, but eventually, it all depends on how the two parties agree.
Although he’s recently been criticized for his showboating during Manchester United’s match against Sheriff, three goals in six appearances in the Premier League is a respectable return for a young player with a long journey ahead of him.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/62718079?fbclid=IwAR2xMHOWELX4SlRQM-gAdBe6Ftb5D6HgxjzJcu7lAXKc2iqeNl0feUVixWA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antony_(footballer,_born_2000)
https://th.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B1%E0%B8%90%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%8B%E0%B8%B2%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%9B%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B9
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/12681337/antony-to-man-utd-why-the-ajax-winger-is-erik-ten-hags-man-and-where-he-fits-in
https://www.elartedf.com/antony-dos-santos-the-story-of-brazil-and-ajaxs-brightest-young-talent/
