Francesco Antonucci

Francesco Antonucci

Antonucci in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth	(1999-06-20) 20 June 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Charleroi, Belgium
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	Al Shahaniya
Number	10
Youth career
	La Louvière Centre
0000–2010	Charleroi
2010–2015	Anderlecht
2015–2017	Ajax
2017	Monaco
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2017–2020	Monaco B	50	(13)
2019–2020	→ Volendam (loan)	20	(11)
2020–2023	Feyenoord	0	(0)
2020–2021	→ Volendam (loan)	31	(4)
2022–2023	→ Volendam (loan)	33	(3)
2023–	Al Shahaniya	0	(0)
International career
2014	Belgium U15	1	(1)
2014–2015	Belgium U16	9	(0)
2015–2016	Belgium U17	12	(0)
2019–2020	Belgium U21	4	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 4 September 2023

Francesco Antonucci (born 20 June 1999) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Qatari Second Division club Al Shahaniya.

A Belgium youth international, Antonucci played in the academies of Anderlecht and Ajax, before being signed by Monaco in 2017. He made his breakthrough on loan at FC Volendam, earning a transfer to Feyenoord in August 2020.

Club career

Monaco

Antonucci played in the youth of La Louvière Centre, Charleroi, Anderlecht and Ajax. In the winter break of the 2016–17 season he moved to Monaco. ^[1] At Monaco, he played for the second team, competing in the Championnat National 2, the fourth tier of the French football league system.

Loan to Volendam

Ahead of the 2019–20 season, Antonucci was sent on a one-season loan to Dutch second-tier Eerste Divisie club FC Volendam, ^[2] where he made his professional debut on 13 September 2019, a 1–1 home draw against FC Dordrecht. He came on for Alex Plat in the 74th minute. A week later, he made his debut in the starting lineup in the Vissersderby against SC Telstar and immediately scored his first senior goal, the first of the match off an assist from Kevin Visser, in a match that Volendam eventually won 2–1. ^[3] In the second period of the Eerste Divisie season, Antonucci really started to find his feet in manager Wim Jonk's team, as Volendam won eight matches in a row and thus took a period title, qualifying them for promotion play-offs. In the deciding match, against MVV Maastricht (4–1 win), Antonucci scored. Throughout the season, Antonucci would become one of the defining players of the Volendam team, as he scored six goals and made three assists in the months of December and January alone. In March 2020, he was named "Best Talent" of the third period. ^[4] Shortly afterwards, all football activity was suspended in the Netherlands due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, Antonucci was joint club top goalscorer alongside Martijn Kaars. ^[5]

Feyenoord

Second loan to Volendam

Antonucci returned to AS Monaco in early June 2020, as the 2019–20 season had been officially cancelled in Dutch football. In August 2020, Antonucci signed a four-year contract with an option of another year with Eredivisie club Feyenoord, with part of the deal being Antonucci playing another year on loan at Volendam. ^[6] He continued his strong play and finished the 2020–21 season as the Volendam player with the most assists (11). ^[7] Antonucci and Volendam qualified for the play-offs for promotion, but NAC Breda proved too strong. ^[8]

Return to Feyenoord

At the end of the 2020–21 season, Antonucci returned to Feyenoord. On 22 July 2021, he made his debut for the club as a substitute in a qualifying match for the UEFA Europa Conference League against Drita. In stoppage time, Antonucci struck the post and could thus not prevent the match from ending in a 0–0 draw. ^[9]

Third loan to Volendam

On 6 January 2022, Antonucci was sent on his third loan to Volendam, signing a six-month loan deal. ^{[10] [11]} If the club were to win promotion to the Eredivisie, the loan would be automatically extended one season. ^[10] Volendam was promoted and the loan was extended for 2022–23.

Release by Feyenoord

On 15 August 2023, Antonucci's contract with Feyenoord was terminated by mutual consent, making him a free agent. ^[12]

Al Shahaniya

On 2 September 2023, Qatari Second Division club Al Shahaniya announced the signing of Antonucci. The duration of the contract was undisclosed. ^[13]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 28 May 2023 ^[14]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Monaco B	2016–17	CFA	6	0	—		—		6	0
	2017–18	National 2	23	5	—		—		23	5
	2018–19	National 2	19	8	—		—		19	8
	2019–20	National 2	2	0	—		—		2	0
	Total		50	13	—		—		50	13
Volendam (loan)	2019–20	Eerste Divisie	20	11	1	0	—		21	11
Feyenoord	2020–21	Eredivisie	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2021–22	Eredivisie	0	0	0	0	1 [a]	0	1	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
Volendam (loan)	2020–21	Eerste Divisie	31	4	1	0	—		32	4
	2021–22	Eerste Divisie	16	1	0	0	—		16	1
	2022–23	Eredivisie	17	2	0	0	—		17	2
			64	7	1	0	—		65	7
Al Shahaniya	2023–24	Qatari Second Division	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
Career total			134	31	2	0	1	0	137	31

1. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Individual

• Eredivisie Team of the Month: May 2023 ^[15]

References

1. "Ajax and AS Monaco reach agreement for Francesco Antonucci". AFC Ajax (in Dutch). 19 January 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
2. Dekker, Edward (31 August 2019). "Van Monaco naar Volendam: Francesco Antonucci". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
3. "FC Volendam wint de Vissersderby". FC Volendam (in Dutch). 20 September 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
4. "Francesco Antonucci verkozen tot beste talent van derde periode". FC Volendam (in Dutch). 4 March 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
5. Dekker, Edward (6 March 2020). "Francesco Antonucci aast op titel clubtopscorer FC Volendam". NH Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 November 2020.
6. "Feyenoord en Volendam hebben beet met Antonucci". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 13 August 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
7. Krabbendam, Martijn (14 April 2021). "Team Jonk stoomt Antonucci klaar voor Feyenoord: 'Ik wil een speciale speler worden'". Voetbal International (in Dutch).
8. Kas, Dennis (15 May 2021). "NAC zet FC Volendam met gemak opzij en bereikt halve finale play-offs". Algemeen Dagblad (in Dutch).
9. "Doelpuntloos Conference League-debuut voor Feyenoord". feyenoord.nl (in Dutch). 22 July 2021.
10. "Francesco Antonucci schrijft derde hoofdstuk in FC Volendam-verhaal". FC Volendam (in Dutch). 6 January 2022.
11. "Feyenoord verhuurt Antonucci toch weer aan FC Volendam". Voetbal International (in Dutch). 5 January 2022.
12. "Feyenoord en Antonucci akkoord over contractontbinding" [Feyenoord and Antonucci agree on contract termination] (in Dutch). Feyenoord. 15 August 2023. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
13. "الإيطالي فرنسيسكو في الشحانية" [Italian Francesco in Al Shahaniya] (in Arabic). Al Shahaniya. 2 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
14. Francesco Antonucci at Soccerway. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
15. "FC Twente main supplier in May's Eredivisie Team of the Month". Eredivisie. 2 June 2023. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.

External links

• Francesco Antonucci at the Royal Belgian Football Association