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However, Signori Antonio’s reality is different as the Angolan plays for Étoile Carouge in the Promotion League.
Eternally back and forth between Switzerland and Angola
Signori Antonio was born in Lausanne in July 1994 and made the jump to the youth academy of FC Lausanne-Sport in 2007. He made his debut for the current Super League team in the top Swiss league in the 2012/13 season, but played only twelve games in a total of two years and was then transferred to FC Le Mont in the Challenge League. However, he did celebrate a highlight during his time at Lausanne: on May 28, 2014, he made his debut for the Angolan national team, which years later would allow him to make the biggest appearances of his career, but more on that later.
After a season at Le Mont, he temporarily left Switzerland and moved to his native Angola, where he won three titles in two years with the 1° de Agosto, including the championship twice. For the first time in his career, he was without a club in the summer of 2017 and remained so for six months before he found a place at FC Basel. However, he did not play a match for the professionals and was only substituted in the last minutes of the last matchday against Xamax so that he could say goodbye to the fans. He played eight games for Bebbi’s U21s. Nevertheless, he was in the team that won the cup in 2018/19 and can therefore call himself a cup winner.
In July 2019, he suffered the same fate as two years earlier. Antonio had no club and this time had to wait a whole year before he got a two-year contract with Petro Luanda in Angola and won the championship and the cup there. After another year without a club, he returned to Switzerland in the summer of 2023 and has since been in charge of Étoile Carouge in the Promotion League.
In total, he was confronted with the situation of starting the new season without a club three times. His contract with the current Promotion League leaders only runs until the end of the season, meaning the scenario he is very familiar with could happen for the fourth time. Just a few days ago he was in the spotlight at the African Cup of Nations.
An African summer fairy tale that only football can write
Signori Antonio’s career was not exactly typical for a national player. Nevertheless, he was part of the Angolan national team for the Africa Cup of Nations, the equivalent of the European Championship. For a long time it looked like there would be no more performances for Angola in addition to the previous ten. During all three group matches, he languished on the bench for ninety minutes and could only congratulate his teammates on their passage to the round of 16 as a silent spectator.
But then the tide would suddenly turn. After 17 minutes in the round of 16 against Namibia, regular goalkeeper Neblú made a fatal mistake. The 30-year-old goalkeeper parried a shot with his arms, but was just outside the penalty area. Logical consequence: direct red card. Signori Antonio came on as his replacement, who went on to keep his box clean and reach the quarter-finals. Due to Neblú’s suspension, Antonio was given the honor of representing his country against Nigeria led by superstar Victor Osimhen. There he showed a number of strong saves, but could not prevent elimination.
Back to the reality called amateur football
After the African Cup, often a highlight in the career of every African player, club football was back on Antonio’s agenda. His employer is called Étoile Carouge and, as is known, plays in the Promotion League. The goalkeeper therefore went straight from the biggest tournament on the African continent back to Swiss amateur football.
There he met the U21 team of FC Basel and thus his old club on Wednesday evening. The big change of scenery didn’t go as planned for him and his team. Although he was in the starting line-up, he could not prevent the surprising 2-0 defeat. They returned to victory against Bulle and celebrated a 1-0 victory thanks to a strong reflex from Signori Antonio. In the rankings they are five points ahead of FC Paradiso.
All Promotion League matches can be streamed via RED+.
|
team
|
SP
|
T.D
|
PT
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
 FC Etoile Carouge
|
19
|
17
|
43
|
|
|
2
|
 FC Paradiso
|
19
|
8th
|
38
|
|
|
3
|
 FC Rapperswil-Jona
|
19
|
13
|
36
|
|
|
4
|
 FC Biel-Bienne
|
19
|
13
|
33
|
|
|
5
|
 SC Kriens
|
19
|
-1
|
32
|
|
|
6
|
 SC Bruhl St. Gallen
|
18
|
5
|
30
|
|
|
7
|
 SC Cham
|
19
|
5
|
30
|
|
|
8th
|
 FC Breitenrain
|
19
|
-2
|
29
|
|
|
9
|
 SR Delémont
|
19
|
-2
|
28
|
|
|
10
|
 BSC Young Boys II
|
19
|
-3
|
26
|
|
|
11
|
 FC Zurich II
|
18
|
6
|
24
|
|
|
12
|
 FC Lucerne II
|
19
|
-5
|
21
|
|
|
13
|
 FC Bulle
|
19
|
-7
|
21
|
|
|
14
|
 FC Bavois
|
19
|
2
|
20
|
|
|
15
|
 FC Basel II
|
19
|
-11
|
18
|
|
|
16
|
 FC Lugano II
|
19
|
-15
|
18
|
|
|
17
|
 St. Gall II
|
19
|
-6
|
17
|
|
|
18
|
 Napkin FC
|
19
|
-17
|
10
|
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
