The Dante Vanzeir story: How he turned his MLS nightmare back into a dream

Dante Vanzeir recently signed for MLS side New York Red Bulls, but his American soccer adventure took an unexpected turn after making a racist remark in a game against the San José Earthquakes on April 9. Let's have a look at Vanzeir's career and how he ended up getting banned from the MLS.

Vanzeir started his professional career at KRC Genk. He made nine appearances for his youth club, scoring two goals.

Two years later, Vanzeir joined second-tier Beerschot Wilrijk on a loan deal. He impressed in Antwerp, scoring 17 goals in 39 appearances.

The next season, Genk decided to loan Vanzeir to KV Mechelen, where he got the opportunity to show his skills at the highest Belgian soccer level. He scored three goals in 18 appearances.

That was enough to convince Union SG to sign Vanzeir in the summer of 2020. Vanzeir shone in Brussels and was an integral part of a team that took the Belgian soccer world by storm.

Vanzeir and Union SG ended the 2021-22 campaign in second place, after Club Brugge. Vanzeir scored 15 goals that season and gave 10 assists, sparking interest from abroad.

It was the New York Red Bulls that pulled the trigger half a year later, paying 5 million euros ($5.5m US) for the striker. Vanzeir signed a deal until the end of 2026 in the Big Apple.

Vanzeir made his debut for his new club on the 5th of March 2023. Two weeks later, he scored his first goal, in a 2-1 win against the Columbus Crew.

On the 4th of April, the New York Red Bulls took on the San José Earthquakes, a game that could have possibly changed Vanzeir's MLS future.

In the second half, Vanzeir seemed to have said something to Jeremy Ebobisse. The San José Earthquakes player later testified that the Belgian made a racial comment, which was not directed at Ebobisse personally. The game was interrupted for 20 minutes, but Vanzeir was not substituted immediately after the incident.

Gerhard Struber, the New York Red Bulls manager, later admitted that he should have acted differently. "While there was a lot of uncertainty at the time, with the information that I now know, the right decision would have been to immediately remove Dante Vanzeir from the game", he said in a statement on the New York Red Bulls website.

Vanzeir, too, released a statement: "I accept full responsibility for my actions. While I did not intend to cause any harm or offense with my language, I know that I did and for that I am deeply sorry", he said.

Last but not least, New York Red Bulls reacted to everything that happened. "The New York Red Bulls wholeheartedly apologize for the unacceptable events that transpired on Saturday night during the match with the San Jose Earthquakes. The words and inaction was inexcusable, and we believe there is never a place for it", the club wrote shortly after the incident.

The MLS took the incident very seriously and took some days to think about a possible sanction for Vanzeir, who would eventually be banned for six games.

On top of this, Vanzeir had to pay a fine and had to follow training and education sessions in order to reintegrate himself into MLS soccer.

A part of fans of New York Red Bulls, however, did not agree with Vanzeir's six game ban. Viking Army, Empire Supporters Club and Torcida 96, three of the club's fans groups, left the stadium at the kick-off against Houston Dynamo, expressing their wish that Vanzeir and Struber would be punished adequately.

Vanzeir also got criticism from fellow Belgian Romelu Lukaku. According to Lukaku's former RSC Anderlecht teammate Sacha Kljestan, the Internazionale striker was "very disappointed" with Vanzeir.

There is no place for racism in soccer, but Vanzeir made a mistake that could come with a high cost. The Belgian's reputation inevitably has been damaged, and he will have to do a lot of work to regain the trust of the New York Red Bulls and its fans.

The Vanzeir incident seriously endangered the striker's future in the MLS, with the main question being whether he would ever play for the New York Red Bulls again.

Vanzeir was sidelined for six games before making his comeback on 21 May 2023 against CF Montréal.

Four days later, Vanzeir would be back on the scoresheet for the first time since his suspension. He scored in the US Open Cup against Cincinnati, but later in the same match he missed a penalty that cost his team qualification for the next round.

On 22 June 2023, Vanzeir was on the scoresheet again, this time against Charlotte FC. Finding the back of the net, he helped his team to a point after trailing 2-0.

Scoring two goals after his suspension, Vanzeir is working hard to turn his MLS nightmare back into a dream. And it seems he is slowly but steadily getting there.