Azor Matusiwa: Battling Through Pain to Help Ipswich Town
Azor Matusiwa could have stepped aside. Instead, he limped Ipswich Town over the line.
The Dutch midfielder admits he spent the decisive stretch of the season playing through pain, dragging a battered body through the Championship run-in as Kieran McKenna’s side surged back to the Premier League.
“I played in a lot of discomfort, to be honest,” the 28-year-old said, reflecting on a brutal final few weeks. “The performance was not that good as before. I was struggling a lot.”
The turning point came on Easter Monday. A bad dead leg in the home win against Birmingham forced him off and left a mark that never truly faded. He returned, but not as the same all-action force that had patrolled Ipswich’s midfield for most of the campaign.
He still played. He had to.
“I played with a hamstring injury for two games after the dead leg against Birmingham,” he explained. “This one was a big impact. It’s still hurting, but we found a way to get through it.
“I’m so happy that I didn’t stop, that I kept going, because we knew how important the moment was. I had to play, whatever the cost.”
The cost was visible in those last seven games. The bursts were shorter, the range a little reduced. Yet the intelligence remained, the reading of danger, the timing of the tackle. Ipswich needed control in the most frantic weeks of their modern history. Matusiwa, even at less than full throttle, still gave them that.
“I’m so happy that I could play the last games because the stage of the season was so important,” he said, still buzzing in the aftermath of Monday’s open-top bus parade through town.
From Rennes recruit to Ipswich heartbeat
Signed from Rennes last summer for £7.8m, Matusiwa arrived with expectation on his shoulders and a statement on his back: Sam Morsy’s old No.5 shirt. The role was clear. He was coming in to run the engine room.
He did not ease himself into it. He seized it.
Matusiwa started all but one league game – missing only the 3-0 home defeat to Charlton through suspension – and spent the winter walking a disciplinary tightrope without losing his edge. He chipped in with a stunning match-winning strike against Hull and, across the division, no midfielder made more interceptions. His 75 led the Championship; Preston’s Ben White trailed on 51.
Those numbers told one story. The awards told another. By the end, the former Ajax man was both ITFC Player of the Year and Supporters’ Player of the Year.
“Amazing. Proud, proud feeling. Especially the way we’ve done it,” he said. “It was not easy. A lot of tough moments. But we found a way. I’m so happy, very happy.
“I came for this. I came to help the club to get promoted, to get back in the Premier League. And we did it!”
The adaptation was not instant. His debut at Birmingham was a jolt.
“As we spoke already about it, the first game (at Birmingham) was tough, really tough,” he admitted. “And after, I think the second game was already better. And after that, with the house and everything, I got settled. My level came back and I think I adjusted well.
“The boys, the staff helped me a lot to adjust. They bought me because of my qualities and I’m happy that I’ve been an important player for the club, for the players. But most important is the promotion.”
What has struck him most sits beyond the white lines.
“I really think that the crowd and the community deserve this,” he said. “Because they supported us through the whole season. Even when it was tough, they stayed behind us. They deserve this as well. I’m happy that we have done this for us, but also for them.”
‘Premier League incoming’
Now comes the payoff. Azor Matusiwa, Premier League player. The phrase lands, and he can’t help but grin.
“Yeah, Premier League incoming! Sounds very good, man!” he replied. “It’s a big dream. It’s a dream that I had since I was young, to play in the biggest league in the world. Saturday this dream became reality. It’s an amazing feeling.
“I’m so excited, really excited to play against the biggest teams and the best players in the world. I can’t wait.”
The fixtures will confirm it soon enough, but some dates are already circled in his mind.
“Since I was a kid, I really looked up to Man Utd. To play at Old Trafford is amazing,” he said. “But also at Anfield or Villa away. And also the home games are going to be even better than they already were this season.”
Ipswich’s last Premier League adventure ended in misery: relegation with 22 points in 2001/02. That statistic hangs over any conversation about “being ready” for the step up. Matusiwa doesn’t flinch.
“We go for it,” he said. “We don’t want to go up to come back again. Because this league (the Championship) is tough. This league is so tough. And it’s going to be even tougher next season. So I think it’s the right moment to get out of this league and, hopefully, to never come back again.”
He has already shown what he is prepared to put his body through to get Ipswich there. The real question now is how far he can drive them once he’s finally pain-free and standing in the middle of a Premier League pitch.
