Tolu Arokodare scored Ajax's opener in a 2-0 Conference League win over Atalanta on Thursday evening. Then he had the press room laughing. The striker's post-match exchange with Willem Vissers of de Volkskrant stole the show off the pitch.
At the press conference, Vissers introduced himself in English as 'William'. "I just want to say that you're an incredibly nice guy," the journalist began, praising the Nigerian striker's modesty. "You don't have a big ego at all and you compliment other players. That's just wonderful."
Tolu thanked Vissers at length. "Thank you very much. God bless you," the forward replied, before turning to the other journalists with a broad smile: "Can everybody please be like William?" The press room burst out laughing, and another journalist joked that Vissers had set the bar very high for everyone else.
Later, the questions turned to Tolu's future. Ajax have him on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers until the summer of 2027, with an option to buy reportedly worth €18 million to €20 million. When Mike Verweij of De Telegraaf asked about a longer stay in Amsterdam, the striker was cautious: "That's something between Ajax and Wolves; I can't say anything about it."
Asked by Verweij whether he would be open to a permanent move, Tolu gave a clearer answer: "Of course I'm open to that. I love it here. I love being here. The people are great, the supporters are great, the team are great, the club are great and you're all great. But William is even nicer," he joked.
His goal against Atalanta mattered, but Tolu was modest about his part in the victory. "If you're an Ajax player, you're important anyway, whether you start or not. Even if you don't play, you're important because you help your team-mates improve in training," he explained. "I'm just happy I could help my team with the first goal and contribute to the victory."
Against Atalanta, the striker initially had to settle for a place on the bench, with Marcos Leonardo again preferred. "I'm a patient person. Of course everyone wants to play and start, but Leo played very well in the previous match and the coach thought he deserved to start," Tolu said. "He played well today too; he was just unlucky not to score. He tired out the defenders, which meant I could benefit afterwards."
Nor does Tolu see Leonardo as a rival. "We're not competing with each other, because when you play in the same team, you can't compete with each other. If you fight against each other, you don't help each other and the team can't develop," the Nigerian said.