Andre Onana Poised For Great Things, But Must Watch His Temper

Andre Onana Poised For Great Things, But Must Watch His Temper

By Gbenga Gboyega

Andre Onana helped his team Internazionale leap into the final four of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League season, following a 3-all draw at the San Siro on Wednesday.

Before the game, the Cameroonian had not conceded in the knockout stages, considering the 1-0 scoreline on aggregate over Porto in the Round of 16, and the 2-0 first-leg Semifinal victory over Benfica in Portugal.

But a nervy final ten minutes to the second leg game gave Benfica a glimmer of hope as the Portuguese club scored two goals in stoppage time, albeit the game was done and dusted in favor of Onana's side.

In spite of keeping six clean sheets in ten UCL games this term, Onana tends to make the headlines for the wrong reasons, be it a disagreement with his coach or a burst up with teammates.

Recall that the 27-year-old was reported to have had a disagreement with coach Rigobert Song after the 1-0 loss to Switzerland, which consequently sidelined the goalkeeper from subsequent group stage games against Serbia and Brazil, with the team going unbeaten in both (D1, W1).

Bsnsports.com.ng reports that the fiasco led to Andre Onana dropping off the World Cup squad and leaving Qatar altogether, to the disappointment of fans, his coach, and teammates.

During the warmup before the second leg tie against Benfica on Wednesday night, GoalItalia on Twitter reported another burst-up between Onana and Brozovic, with the former captured tackling the latter vigorously during a "Rondo" training. 

The Tweet read in Italian "Tensione durante il torello: scintille tra #Onana e #Brozovic 👀"

@GoalItalia

Translation: "Tension during bull run: sparks between #Onana and #Brozovic 👀"

The tackle didn't go down well with Brozovic who was seen to kick a towel toward Onana in reaction before teammates intervened to squash any further combat.

Onana has conceded lesser goals than in games played for Inter this Série À season, helping his team hold firmly to European spots on the log(5th), but the Cameroonian with 34 caps for his country may need to watch his temper if he is to reach elite status.