David Bates is hoping he will have something to shout about by helping KV Mechelen roar to victory in the Croky Cup final this weekend.
The four-time Scotland cap goes into the Belgian Cup final against Royal Antwerp on Sunday. For Bates, it will be his first cup final and the chance to pick up the first silverware of his career. He modestly said: “It is a massive thing because it is the only cup in Belgium. It is our equivalent of the Scottish or FA Cup. Mechelen won it four or five years ago and that team is still fondly remembered. We still have a few players involved from then and it was a big day for the club.
“If we can win the cup we would also go into the second last qualifying round of the Europa League so that is another added incentive. Hopefully we can add a third cup to the records at Mechelen and we can also have Europe to look forward to next season.”
Mechelen have beaten Lokeren-Temse, Seraing, Kortrijk and Zulte Waregem to get to the Belgian Cup final. The 26-year-old excitedly admitted: “This could be my first winner's medal if all goes to plan. Fingers crossed. The cup run has been excellent and helped our season because we were a bit up and down in the league. The furthest I have got before in cup competitions has been the semi-final with Rangers when we lost to Celtic.
"I was 16 and in the stand but I was still so young. I also got to the semi-final of the Pokal with Hamburg, where we lost to Hamburg. I was at Raith as a kid when we beat Rangers in the SPFL Trophy. Hopefully, we can go all the way this weekend.”
Mechelen’s ticket allocation for the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels has been sold out for weeks. Tickets are like gold dust and there is a real buzz of anticipation in and around the city of Mechelen. Bates will have his own supporters club in the Belgian capital.
He confirmed: “My girlfriend, Marnie, mum, Donna, and dad, David, are coming across. The final is in the national stadium. It is just the cup finals and international games that are played there so it will be a first for me to play there. “If I am right, there are 20,000 fans each. We sold out our allocation a good few weeks ago.
“There is a good buzz around the club. It has been on everybody’s mind since we won the semi-final a few weeks ago. The fans have been talking about the final all the time and so it is a good thing to look forward to. The ironic thing is that when it comes to the final, Bates finds himself behind enemy lines. He actually stays in Antwerp. It is a wee bit more chilled than it is in Scotland,” Bates joked. “They are relatively laid back and I haven’t taken too much stick."
READ NEXT
