The Nigerian full-back thinks back to his years at Toro and the climate of Serie A: “Ultras, drums and flags in every stadium”
Since 2023 he has returned to England, to Nottingham Forrest, but Ola Aina he doesn’t forget the experience he had in Turin. After an initial spell with the Granata from 2018 to 2020, the Nigerian full-back went on loan to Fulham, before returning to Toro for another two seasons, between 2021 and 2023. In total, he made 113 appearances with the Granata shirt, enriched by 2 goals and 7 assists. “Thank you for bringing me in, thank you for the support it threw my ups and downs and my madness off the pitch. I will remain a fan and continue to support Toro. Good luck and goodbye”, he wrote in a farewell Instagram post before joining Nottingham Forrest in the Premier League as a free agent. Aina became one of the cornerstones of last season, the 2024-2025, memorable despite the Champions League qualification narrowly slipping away, so much so that he earned a renewal until 2028. This year he has only made five league appearances so far due to a thigh injury that kept him out from September until the end of 2025. He returned in the first two outings of the year against Aston Villa and West Ham.
In an interview given to Beast Mode PodcastOla Aina looked back on his years at Toro, explaining that he was struck above all by the atmosphere in the Italian stadiums: “Practically every match was incredible: everywhere we went there were ultras, drums, flags and smoke bombs. Hats off to the Italian fans, home and away”he said. Then a special passage on the derby: “The Turin derby, especially when it was played at Torino’s home ground, was crazy: smoke bombs all the time”.
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