Matusiwa: I'm Feeling the Love Thursday, 16th Oct 2025 06:00 by Kallum Brisset Azor Matusiwa says he is feeling the love from the Town fans after becoming a mainstay in the Blues midfield following his summer arrival from Rennes. Having been signed for just under £8 million in July, the Dutchman has started all eight of Town’s league matches so far this season and become one of the first names on Kieran McKenna’s team sheet. Matusiwa’s performances have been consistently improving with each game, particularly while partnering former Reims teammate Jens Cajuste. The 27-year-old expressed his gratitude at the support he has received from the Blue Army during his opening three months at Portman Road and in English football. “I’m feeling the love from them,” he said. “I’m feeling the love from the club and the people in the club. I’m so thankful because I was looking for this. “I had a really tough season in France, not only me but the whole club. I’m very happy that I could find this love and feel it again. I will do everything for the club because I can feel the love, it’s great to be here. “I’m really settled now. The beginning was a bit hard because you’re coming from abroad and everything is different, especially when you have a newborn and a wife so it was not easy. “We are finally settled and we are happy. I am happy with the club and it feels a great step.” Matusiwa’s career thus far has seen him play in France for both Reims and Rennes after leaving his homeland in the Netherlands after graduating from Ajax’s academy and featuring in the Eredivisie for both De Graafschap and Groningen. During his time in the French top flight, the midfielder made his Europa League debut for Rennes, which included a start at the iconic San Siro against AC Milan. Asked why he chose a move to the Championship as his next move, he responded: “The ambition, how people spoke about the club, how the boss spoke about the club and his ideas with me and what he expects of me. The ambition was really exciting to me. “I came because I felt the ambition, the love of the club and the people that wanted me. The ambition is to get back as soon as possible to the Prem. I think we are on a good track, but we have a lot of things to improve.” As he has been with many signings in recent seasons, McKenna was clearly a huge selling point for Matusiwa, who praised his new manager for his personal qualities as well as his tactical ones. “To be honest, really nice and really humble,” he said. “He really tries to help me where he can, not only on the pitch but also off the pitch. “I asked him a bit of advice for my kid because we had some things to manage, he’s really open and he really helps us. It is really good to speak with him on and off the pitch. “He’s a really great person. We are happy because we had some things, in some situations he could say I’m not going to help you but he did. “He also gives us a little bit of peace, knowing the manager is here to help me and will think about me on the pitch but also off the pitch. It helped us a lot.” Two weeks ago, Matusiwa made his first community visit when he attended the Boys Elite Player Development Centre at Inspire Suffolk, a youth football programme put on by the Ipswich Town Foundation. “I think it’s a really important part of the club,” Matusiwa stressed. “As a player, you have responsibilities like this to meet other players, tell them a bit about yourself and what to do to maybe reach this level because it’s not for everyone. “It feels good to do it, and because they are really happy to see a player from the first team of Ipswich, it’s really impressive to them. If you can help them, why not? For me, it feels normal.” The Town midfielder also brings some leadership qualities to the side having spent the majority of his second season at Groningen as captain due to injury issues suffered by Dutch icon Arjen Robben. Matusiwa says learning from such a legend was an incredible experience, and an influence he has been asked to bring to the Blues’ midfield this season. He said: “That was also one of the expectations of the coach and of the club to bring this leadership, help everyone to improve and be an example. That’s what I'm trying to do. “I'm not trying to force it, it’s just how I am, I'm not going to act different. The players are accepting as well, I can feel the respect of the players. I think we have more captains in the team, it’s up to us to lead the team and do everything to improve and perform.” Reflecting further on Robben, he added: “A big, huge name. Unfortunately he didn’t play a lot because he had a lot of injuries. “The way he trained, before the training, during the session, after the session, what he did to recover - I’ve never seen this in my life, it was great to see this. Unfortunately, he couldn’t play as many games as he wanted to play so we didn’t use him a lot. “He was normally the first captain, I was the second captain but I was almost captain for every game because he didn’t play a lot of games. The quality he brought on the pitch when he was training or playing was incredible, really impressive.” Dutch football is something that clearly means a lot to Matusiwa, who represented the Oranje at U16 and U21 level but is yet to receive honours at international level. His brother Diangi has represented Angola, and while also eligible to represent the African nation, Matusiwa has no plans to declare a switch of allegiance. “To be honest, if I have to choose between Angola, DR Congo or the Dutch team, I would rather the Dutch team because I did my whole life in Holland,” he said. “I was born in Holland and did my education and everything there. If I can choose, I’d rather the Dutch squad. “This is also an option but not for now, maybe for later but for now I just want to focus on the team to achieve our goals. I think we can achieve big things together if we continue the way we are now. Maybe this is something for later but this is not something for now.” Town have a particularly rich history of Dutch players, with Arnold Muhren, Frans Thijssen, Romeo Zondervan and Fabian Wilnis among those to star for the Blues in the past. Martijn Reuser is another name, and one that Matusiwa has briefly come into contact while a younger player in the Netherlands. He said: “He was a coach in the youth of Ajax. I’ve seen him a few times but didn’t really speak to him. “After the first contact with the club, I did my research [on the Dutch history] and I found out.”
Photo: TWTD Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 297 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
