FSV Mainz manager Achim Beierlorzer has hailed Taiwo Awoniyi for his exemplary attitude despite his limited playing time at the club, reports Completesports.com.
Awoniyi linked up with Mainz on a one-year loan deal from European champions Liverpool last summer.
The Nigeria forward has made just seven league appearances since his arrival at the club.
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The 22-year-old scored his maiden goal for Mainz in the 2-2 away draw at FC Cologne last weekend.
“He has always had an insane attitude to professional sports and accepted all my decisions with absolute respect,” Bierlorzer was quoted by tribalfootball.com.
“In the internal tests, he produced a sensational performance.”
5 Comments
Keep it up awoniyi.
The marks of a good footballer aren’t just physical attributes but mental fortitude and resilience.
Make no mistakes about it, behind the jubilation of Taiwo Awoniyi last weekend after scoring in the league match against Cologne is a man going through a very tough time in his once promising career.
Watching the match, I hadn’t expected him to be introduced. Do you blame me? He was not even in the match day squad for the club’s last 9 matches amidst speculations that Liverpool were thinking of ending his fruitless stay in Mainz.
But there he was on the bench and subsequently introduced around 64 minutes to stab home a precious goal which brought life back for his team who had been lagging behind by 2 goals at that point.
Awoniyi looked sharp and crisp, very much the part, very much keen to prove to himself, his fans and neutral observers that he is still open for business; the business of scoring goals. This is a telling affirmation of his willingness to plough on in the face of limited opportunities and dwindling fortunes in a club where he has found it difficult, if not impossible, to make any meaningful mark towards advancing his club career to where it ought to be.
Having been alive to the challenges the young man is facing in this club at the moment, his coach – according to the article above – was quoted as saying: “In the internal tests, he produced a sensational performance.” End of quote.
And that much is true. Taiye Taiwo has to continue to churn out sensational internal performances within himself to stay strong, stay focused and continue to fortify his resilience. Surely, his due season will come.
For his efforts last week, Awoniyi was rated 7 of 10 in a performance that saw him grab the headlines for all the right reasons. He had 2 attempts at goal and successfully completed 9 passes. He flirted around from centre forward to the right wing in a fashion reminiscent of Jurgen Klopp’s approach at Liverpool.
The 2013 under 17 world cup hero, who has featured in 7 out of 26 games for Mainz thus far this season, will be hoping to build up on last week’s performance if he is selected or introduced against RB Leipzig tomorrow in a match that could see him come face to face with another Super Eagles hopeful Ademola Lookman.
Now, that would be fascinating to see!
Correction – references to ‘Taiye Taiwo’ were meant to read ‘Taiwo Awoniyi’.
awoniyi can be good but he cant be trusted, he is almost like ighalo in is early days (though ighalo bounced back) they dont perform in big games or difficult games. I use to be a very big fan of awoniyi, after a wonderfull youth turnament performance, i was really hopefull that he will make eagles proud but after sometime the began to flop, olimpic 2012 was an opportunity but he couldnt make the team after high expectations from fans, the one that disgusted me the most is his last olimpic qualification match against southafrica, awoniyi disapointed me again. That team was good but needed a goal scorer while awoniyi was there runing around like a novice, compared to osihmen who came in for one game and score hatrick, awoniyi needs to take a strong decision by employing himself a personal trainer that can also buid is football mentality, if he can work hard like cr7 and other bignames does in training, update is football ideas by spying on good strikers like kaen, lewandowsky, klose and drogba, then he can get better at list to play consistently, i wish him lots of lucks, thesame way i feel about musa muhammed, men that guy was destined to be the greatest rightback in africa history, i wish he can just return home and play for kanu pillers or eyimba its not too late for him to come take his rightful place, a non club musa is better than awaziem and abdulahi in that right back position. mankajuola another youth i love so much, if rohr is a good builder as most of eagles fans are claiming, he wouldnt be sitting and waiting for clubs to build these guys he should create a team b for these guys to come in once in a while and play games, even if its against the local clubsides it will help their moral regarding their carea, imagine kelechi nwankali, isaac sucess, tyron ebueyi etc these guys should not be alowed to faid away like that, i dont like wat money is doing to our football, if our clubs can be obligated to pay professionals the minimum of 2 million per month, which is achievable, via tv rights commercials, jersey saled and tickets sales+ state goverment support. our players will not be embaraced by the so called tilent sucking european clubs that ends up riping of players skills and confidents from them. how i wish dangote can help manage our league with is wealth, instead of planing to buy arsenal, who arsenal help?
Very well said, bro.