The tactical change made by KRC Genk helped unlock Tolu Arokodare’s best qualities, according to former assistant manager Jan Wuytens, Footynaija reports.
Arokodare, who now plays for Ajax, initially struggled to adapt to Genk’s style after joining the Belgian club. Wuytens said the Nigerian found the team’s high-pressing approach difficult because it required him to make repeated sprints without the ball.
“Tolu has a very special profile, he is a unique boy. When he arrived, he mainly had to get used to our style of play. We played a kind of Ajax football, with high pressure,” the former Racing Genk assistant manager said, as quoted by Ajax1.
“He really struggled with that at the beginning: constantly making those sprint meters while pressing.
“But in his second season, Tolu really came into his own at Genk, also because we started using him much more to his strengths.”
The biggest change was Genk’s decision to put more crosses into the penalty area and make better use of Arokodare’s height and ability in the air.
“We started training more on crosses, throwing balls into the box. Tolu is simply unstoppable there. He is a very good header, and also quite fast, so you have to bring out his strengths,” Wuytens said.
The change allowed Arokodare to spend more time in areas where he could use his physical strength. Instead of asking him to do everything in a high-pressing system, Genk found ways to get the ball to him in the box.
Wuytens said Arokodare also improved his understanding of Belgian football, especially the quick changes between attacking and defending.
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“He himself also adapted increasingly well, especially to the tempo of the game, as there are a lot of transition moments in Belgian football,” he added.
The former Genk assistant manager also praised Arokodare’s personality and said coaches have an important role in getting the best from him.
“He is a special boy. He has a kind of magic, that allows him to win everyone over at certain clubs,” he said.
“As a coach, you really have to strike the right chord with him, the perfect chord, and you have to keep striking it to keep him consistent. If you do that, you get a killer on the pitch.”
Wuytens said the key is to give Arokodare enough tactical structure while still allowing him to use the qualities that make him dangerous.
“That is the game you have to play with him: you want to put him into a certain structure, in which he can still be himself. That is interesting,” he explained.
Wuytens also rejected any suggestion that Arokodare was a disciplinary problem during their time together at Genk.
“With us, there have never been any problems with him being late or things like that,” he emphasized.
Instead, Wuytens recalled how Arokodare became more productive as Genk found better ways to use him.
“And eventually, he really started to push through. He started scoring more and more, and we started using him better and better.
“He is so strong at holding onto the ball, allowing the rest to join in. If you feed him with crosses, and have players making runs around him, he is a very interesting player,” Wuytens added.
Arokodare has two goals and one assist in five appearances in the Dutch Eredivisie.
