TFC – Auxerre: “As a teenager, it was difficult for me to see him leave”… Carles Martinez Novell discusses the transfer of Onaiwu, who returns to the Stadium on Sunday

Friday 29th November 2024 11:52 AM

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Transferred to Auxerre in 2023 after two seasons at TFC, the Japanese Ado Onaiwu returns to the Stadium this Sunday to challenge his former club. Toulouse coach Carles Martinez Novell explains that it was difficult to see him leave.

Almost a year and a half after his departure from TFC, in the summer of 2023, Ado Onaiwu will return to the club where he spent two seasons, this Sunday for the visit of Auxerre for the 13th day of the League 1. In the purple jersey, the Japanese international scored 14 goals and won two titles, that of Ligue 2 champion in 2022 and the Coupe de France in 2023.

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Carles Martinez Novell, the current coach of Toulouse, got to know the 29-year-old striker during his last months at the club. “Honestly for me, it was difficult for me to see him leave. We tried to find the best solution for him, for us, for everyone. He wanted to play more, he’s a very competitive person” remembers the Catalan, who was Philippe Montanier’s deputy at the time. Helmed by Thijs Dallinga as center forward, and by the emergence of Farès Chaibi, who had regularly been used on the attacking side, Onaiwu had played 34 Ligue 1 matches during the 2022-2023 season, but only 9 as a starter.

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Transferred to Auxerre, he was prolific during his first season in Yonne, with 15 goals scored (Auxerre’s top scorer of the season), a new Ligue 2 title and promotion to Ligue 1. This season, Onaiwu is less used by Christophe Pélissier (4 starts, 2 goals) but hopes to play this Sunday against TFC. “It’s special” he confided to Yonne Républicaine. “Because it’s my first club outside Japan. It’s like a second home for me. I like the Stadium, the fans. I still have a few friends there, although several of them They’re gone. So I’m looking forward to this match.”

Carles Martinez Novell for his part hopes “that he will play”, because he knows “that it is an important match in his eyes. Ado is a very good guy, he deserves the best.”

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