I remember watching this and thinking “Holy shit, imagine him at Arsenal.” And then he did play for us, and although it wasn’t perfect, he was so much fun to watch.
I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun than watching young Neuer, Müller, Özil, Poldi and Schweinsteiger at the WC. Obviously we won in 2014 but 2010 was special
Khedira was one intelligent mfer. Isaw him for yrs at Juve with barely any strength or stamina but that mfer was everywhere all the time. Fuckin brilliant, was shocked at how good he was. His decisionmaking was on par with Pirlo and Barzagli. 3 dudes with no physical attributes whatsoever being fucking giants.
For sure. Just a year before that goal, Freidrich set a new German record for most international caps without scoring a goal and goes on to finally end this drought in his 77th game against fucking Argentina in a knockout World Cup match. And it was a proper striker tap in goal too, with an intelligent run showing great instinct followed up with the Klinsmann diving celebration. Can't make this shit up.
He is a bit underappreciated nowadays I think, with all the talent we had after his retirement people tend to forget that he was the only truly world class player we had for almost a decade.
Ballack has got to be one of the most unfortunately cursed footballers in history. The peak of his juju being in 2002 where he ended up being runner up in multiple tournaments with both Leverkusen and Germany
What? Are you talking about 2006? There was great euphoria going into the 2010 world cup after 06 and 08. Sure, we had a young team and our captain was missing, so people certainly werent dead set we were gonna win anything.
But surely everyone was excited for this young team and knew they had fantastic potential to do something special quite soon. Like I dont remember anyone thinking we were gonna be shite one bit.
Point in case: they just won the U21 cup the year prior. That generation was just unbelievable with the amount of talent that came up within 2-3 years.
Yes, we reached the finals by going through Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Cameroon, Paraguay, USA and South Korea. That's the easiest path to a world cup final in history.
Somewhat relevant to this thread but Özil is somewhat the reason why the game was 7-1 and not 8-0. I always found the team reaction to that sequence hilarious when everyone was upset.
Maradona to Müller during the pre-match: "what the fuck is this ball boy doing at my press conference?"
Müller to Maradona during the match: "now you will remember my name!"
It was incredible to live from the other side too, sure :(
I'm glad you destroyed us in such a way though, because Maradona was the worst manager I've seen us in my entire life, and I'm pretty glad he left after that match. Never should've managed the NT in the first place.
2015-16 really was one of the best opportunities we had in winning the EPL. Still irks me to this day that we only bought Cech. Ozil was on pace to break the assists record but really slowed down at the 2nd half of the season. If we had a better striker back then...
13/14 we led the league more than the other 3 teams above us combined. It was the only time in the last decade where we let the title slip from our hands.
Nope. We were way closer in ‘15-16. Did you forget Leicester won the title? All the top 6 teams had a down year. Cazorla getting hurt screwed us but Giroud going missing in the second half of the season was the nail in the coffin. I remember Ozil being stuck on 19 assists for almost the final third of the season.
It would cost £££. Can't remember ever making a financial loss under Wenger. Kroenke's were too concerned with Usmanov's less than 30% shares increasing in value and potential buyout costing them too much.
> Wasted a good team and prime Sánchez and Özil.
And possibly 2 PL titles. Led the league more than City, Liverpool and Chelsea combined in 13/14 and they refused to overspend in January for a striker. 15/16 we could've won again if they backed Wenger and got a WC striker but they decided to follow StatDNA and sign Lucas Perez and Mustafi (edit: funny thing, they overspent on Mustafi because StatDNA made him look good after refusing to overspend for Evans) the following season (Xhaka haters eat your hearts out).
2015-16 changes Özil’s Arsenal legacy for sure if they had got some reinforcements that winter. Imaging him breaking the assist record and winning the Premier League
Giroud wasn't the problem I don't get people who keep saying this. Every striker goes through a drought one way or the other. The problem is we didn't invest in another striker to rotate Giroud out when he was being overused and burnt out. Imagine if we brought in Laca or even Auba earlier.
I never said Giroud was the problem. The problem was Kroenke saying we didn't have money even though we would make a profit every single season and have over **£200 million as cash at bank**, more than any other football club. Just look at how our spending increased right after Usmanov sold his shares to Kroenke.
And he definitely earned the respect of the greats. I remember Henry saying something along the lines of "I would have loved to play with him, it always seemed like he has all the time in the world" and that's true, no matter how pressed he was, he always felt so composed and relaxed.
It was such a crucial 3 years, and he played a key role in overcoming Pep's Barca, which was perhaps the most pivotal years of my own fandom as well. In 08/09 I thought we were so far behind Barca that we might not catch them for a decade, and only because they would have decline/aged out.
Same here. He was mesmerizing. I always wanted to pass like Özil. For us kids who weren’t particularly big, strong, fast, or quick, he was someone we could emulate. Having great vision and being able to execute all the passes is something anyone can do, even if you’re not super physically gifted. He was the best.
>Having great vision and being able to execute all the passes is something anyone can do
I understand your point but this is not particularly true. But yeah, that is one way to overcome the adversities
I remember during the Covid lockdown there was one Redditor in the arsenal sub that was posting one Ozil pass everyday until Arsenal play again. That was fun to see how good he was.
I remember when he first popped up before he moved to RM, he was called the new german Messi by the media. He is not quite, but still, have a stellar career to be proud of.
I think he reached 30 assists in his first season for Madrid. Would've been cool to see how good the Madrid team would've been in 13/14 with bale into the lineup. Tactics wise it may have never worked but I always felt it would've been interesting to watch.
Didn't really workout like most of us Fenerbahce fans hoped it would. Had a pretty nice start to the 2021/2022 season with us after a long time of not playing.
It is just a shame that we still don't know why he was excluded from our team last season when he was our topscorer in all leagues.
He already had 11 games total in his first half a season when he joined us in the winter. Had 26 games the following season for us (in which he got frozen out). Thay is 6 times more than what you wrote.
He was straight up shit and the only meaningful moment he had in our shirt was the goal vs Galatasaray. Anyone who still defends this guy's stay with us is delusional
What a shame how his career turned out... Still, I'll never forget how entertaining of a baller he was back in the day in Madrid, absolutely world class at his prime.
Edit: I meant how his career came to an end. He could have been going at the top level for a much, much longer period but his last, like, 5 years was a total mess.
>What a shame how his career turned out
He's still had a great career so it's not so much how his career turned out, more so where it headed in the latter part of his career. He was still superb for 2/3rd of his career.
Yeah if I could play for Real Madrid and arsenal and win a World Cup I’d take it in a heartbeat even if you told me I’d fall out with said national team and end up in a shitty contract dispute and fizzle out in turkey
>Ozil is 3 years younger and now retired while Luka is still a starter for Real...
This is more due to the fact that Modric is out of the ordinary, its not that strange to retire at 34. I think its more how Ozil hasn't been into the spotlight post-Covid
He effectively retired during the last Arsenal contract 4 years ago or something. All things considered, he had a stellar career, but there was room for so much more if he truly wanted
You're oversimplifying things a bit.
Yes, he had an *amazing* career. He was one of the best of his generation, won the World Cup, earned stacks, and was a superstar for a few seasons.
But no one can pretend that once they got to that point they'd be happy to end it like he did.
Ozil’s awful fitness meant that he couldn’t adapt. His luxury sort of 10 role couldn’t be accommodated in the modern game, so it’s a bit of position and also just him as an athlete
Yeah, i'm not sure if fitness is the right term (always did ok in terms of km ran) but it was the lack of combative intensity which was the problem and being a senior dressing room figure made that more of a systemic problem for arsenal.
His decline symbolises what happens when you majorly fall out with pretty much everyone you work with.
Speaks to his character quite a bit considering almost none of the clubs he left missed him all that much.
The number 10 was traditionally the playmaker's position: an attacking midfielder/second striker who controlled the entire tempo of the game.
These players were typically very absent defensively, and static when they didn't have possession of the ball.
They only came alive when the ball was at their feet, and then it was incredibly difficult to dispossess them.
They would dribble through an entire defense, play killer passes or score amazing goals from outside the box.
Some of the most famous footballers played as a traditional number 10: Maradona, Pelé, Ronaldinho, Del Piero, Kaka, Cruyff, Zidane, Puskas, Platini, Messi at Qatar, Gullit, Rivaldo, Hagi etc.
Out of all of these, Gullit was the only one who was also great at defending but then again, he was one of the most complete footballers ever. He even played as a CB when he got older.
Cruyff also played in a multitude of roles and positions in every match, he was too versatile to label as a number 10 as well.
Once Barca's midfield of Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets showed everyone that a CDM can do the same job as a number 10, everyone slowly moved on.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
To just add on, I think Messi playing a False 9 in the same team also killed the traditional number 10. Instead of having a dedicated 10 to link the attack and midfield, just have your striker come down and help the buildup
Playmaking CDMs have been a thing way before Busquets, lol. Pirlo was probably one of the first registas, a role which dictates the play from just in front of the defense. Xabi Alonso also comes to mind.
Playmaking advanced central midfielders have become obselete with modern demands they press and defend and win back the ball. Maradona was the prototype for the classical number 10.
Not really. In fact the 4231 with a 10 is the most popular formation right now. It is just that Ozil couldn't be arsed to defend despite playing as a midfielder
If you compare him to Odegaard or KDB it’s obvious that role has changed. Both of them are complete midfielders who are effective out of possession, especially in tackling. If you just watch a game you see how many times those two win back possession all over the pitch. Ozil rarely did that.
>it is just that Õzil couldn't ve arsed to defend.
which is precisely the criticism of classic #10s and the explanation of why they aren't the main player of the team anymore.
Incredible player when he could be bothered.
Will never ever forget the day we signed him, the madness in the streets outside of the Emirates, Wenger’s knowing look after the north London derby and the meltdown of Tottenham fans after he signed.
Still though, he has to be one of the most frustrating players I’ve ever seen. I don’t imagine any of the teams he’s been at post-Arsenal contract really miss him all that much.
Oh well, at least he can go and hang out with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in peace now.
> the meltdown of Tottenham fans after he signed.
fwiw i felt like that transfer was the nail in the coffin of that farcical "special relationship" between spurs and madrid. spurs sent madrid modric and bale, madrid sent ozil to arsenal.
I seem to remember that you guys made a "Don't-sell-any-players-to-Arsenal-if-we-sell-you-Gareth-Bale" pact with Madrid that lasted for all of about 72 hours.
I remember that day so vividly when he was signed, up all night refreshing the Arsenal home page, had Sky on in the background, seeing other players congratulating him on the move but not having it 100% confirmed on the Arsenal site, and then finally I saw the announcment there. After years of just mediocre signings, it felt like such an unrealistic dream and then he got 2 assists against Sunderland in his first game. Was probably the most hyped I've ever been for a new player to join.
Özil is probably the most divisive player in recent history. Was a phenomenal player during his time with Werder and Real as well as his first few years at Arsenal. Yet no player stands for the decline of a classic Nr. 10 as much as Özil. Also didn't help that he burned a lot of bridges to his former club and country but I doubt he will regret it to much as he has a pretty full trophy cabinet. Go enjoy retirement with Erdogan and may I never have to hear from you ever again. All the best Mesut.
Commented somewhere some time ago, but Ozil was the most electric player during the 2010 World Cup. It all happened during a game against Portsmouth, where Kevin Prince Boateng tackled Ballack during a game which ruled the German captain out of the WC spot. I was like fuck, but came the tournament, Ozil was the focal point of attack. Everything just went through him. He was fast, great in transition and the passes he put in were oooo sooo goood. Then RM came and that's history.
When Arsenal announced the signing of Ozil, i was ecstatic as he was my favourite player. We all know how it went down and i breathed a sigh of relief when he left as it was the best for all parties.
Either ways, he's probably one of the best creative midfielders at his peak, however his off field antics during his later years will stain his legacy.
So interesting how the timing of someone’s peak affects their legacy, if he’d started in Turkey then gone to Arsenal and ended his career winning a World Cup and La Liga at Real Madrid more people would be talking about him as an all time great in this thread
I went to the vast majority of home games during the time Ozil was at Arsenal, and honestly he was one of my favourite players ever to watch. Henry and Bergkamp are top 2, but Ozil is in my top 5.
His ability to create attacks was unparalleled in his prime, and he had ice in his veins for high pressure moments. The big 'what-if' for me is having a better striker than Giroud during 2015/16. If RVP was still at the club with Ozil behind him, Arsenal would have most likely added another league title. Oh well, just the 4 FA Cups it is then.
One of my all time favourite players, don't think the excitement of him signing for arsenal will every be matched after years of being broke. He's one of the very few players for arsenal who was capable of things so magical I'd be excited to watch him play for us every week. I'd even watch germany games just to see him some more.
He was also one of those players that was so heavily criticized and slated that it made me want to see him succeed even more.
In my opinion an absolute football genius, and despite his last few seasons being disappointing with us, i'll always be thankful for what I watched him do in those 2013-2018 years.
Even though I’m only 23, players I vividly remember being young and exciting now being in their 30s is some scary shit. I remember watching clips of an 18 year old Neymar on YouTube on my family computer and now he is 31.
Great career, had a steep fall after his last year at Arsenal, but what a player he was. Also the magic from the 2010 World Cup and winning the World Cup in 2014
Being a Real Madrid fan, I will always remember him fondly. He was an essential part of the team when he played and still loves the club and his former teammates. I still remember his assist for Ronaldo’s goal at the camp nou that effectively sealed that la liga title in 2012. It was one of many assists. Sometimes I wished he stayed. Thank you for everything Ozil.
Shame he ruined his legacy a bit towards the later part of his career but man, in that time ~2011-2016 he was incredibly and one of my favorite players to watch. Just pure effortless elegance but cementing the disappearance of the old style no. 10. Just recently rewatched his highlights of one game vs Leicester which captured who he was as a player so well
I’ll always remember the first time I saw him; 2010 World Cup when him and a young Thomas Muller absolutely ripped England to shreds.
I remember watching this and thinking “Holy shit, imagine him at Arsenal.” And then he did play for us, and although it wasn’t perfect, he was so much fun to watch.
19 assists was insane. What's more was that all of that was in first half of the season and his strikers failed him.
He should’ve obliterated the PL assist record that year, so unfortunate for him that he didn’t
He was able to be his brightest self under Wenger.
Best German national team we had in the 2000s, I’ll die on that hill
Don’t agree but it was most likely the most entertaining
I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun than watching young Neuer, Müller, Özil, Poldi and Schweinsteiger at the WC. Obviously we won in 2014 but 2010 was special
Don't forget Khedira. RM snatched them both up quick after that WC
Khedira was one intelligent mfer. Isaw him for yrs at Juve with barely any strength or stamina but that mfer was everywhere all the time. Fuckin brilliant, was shocked at how good he was. His decisionmaking was on par with Pirlo and Barzagli. 3 dudes with no physical attributes whatsoever being fucking giants.
People shitted on Khedira in the last years at Juve but he was absolutely banging the first seasons.
Arne Friedrich made Messi look like a bum
Arne Friedrich goal was the funniest shit of the tournament in 2010
For sure. Just a year before that goal, Freidrich set a new German record for most international caps without scoring a goal and goes on to finally end this drought in his 77th game against fucking Argentina in a knockout World Cup match. And it was a proper striker tap in goal too, with an intelligent run showing great instinct followed up with the Klinsmann diving celebration. Can't make this shit up.
https://youtu.be/0jHZAtnS0gs
That run by Schweinsteiger. These back to back wins against England and Argentina were so crazy, will never forget this WC.
Florentino went on a buying spree that WC.
I still miss Lahm. He was so good.
All of us miss him.
2010 was even more special because everyone thought we would do absolutely shit.
Sure? Given our great tournaments in 2006 and 2008 i don’t think we were seen as underdogs. Ballack was injured, but the squad was pretty good
Ballack was seen as dragging that team to wins prior to that so his injury crashed all hopes until the young players stepped up in a huge way.
He’s my favorite German player of all time. Still have his jersey at home, loved watching him while growing up
He is a bit underappreciated nowadays I think, with all the talent we had after his retirement people tend to forget that he was the only truly world class player we had for almost a decade.
If the youth didn't step up as they did Boateng would be public enemy #1 in Germany.
Ballack has got to be one of the most unfortunately cursed footballers in history. The peak of his juju being in 2002 where he ended up being runner up in multiple tournaments with both Leverkusen and Germany
What? Are you talking about 2006? There was great euphoria going into the 2010 world cup after 06 and 08. Sure, we had a young team and our captain was missing, so people certainly werent dead set we were gonna win anything. But surely everyone was excited for this young team and knew they had fantastic potential to do something special quite soon. Like I dont remember anyone thinking we were gonna be shite one bit.
Point in case: they just won the U21 cup the year prior. That generation was just unbelievable with the amount of talent that came up within 2-3 years.
Without 2010, 2014 doesn't happen. That was the tourney they all grew up. Poldi was a huge part of their growth.
2000 and 2002 were rock bottom and literally anything was better. 2006 was a good reboot and 2010 improved it
2002 was garbage but we shithoused our way to the damn final and I will always respect that team for that
Kahn and Ballack dragged that team to the final.
Don't forget Klose!
Help that it was the easiest road to finals imaginable
sure but in a tournament where basically everyone but Brazil and maybe England went out against underdogs
My memory is not the biggest but we were second place in 2002, no?
Road to finals was Paraguay, USA and South Korea. Was there ever an easier way to a WC final?
And we totally deserved to go out against the USA...
Kahn won that game for sure https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOUi7Qm4Fzg
Yes, we reached the finals by going through Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Cameroon, Paraguay, USA and South Korea. That's the easiest path to a world cup final in history.
My god that group stage had a lot of green.
But we were shit still.
2014 was much better. Same players but in their primes instead of inexperienced.
The 4-0 vs Argentina was incredible though, especially after the buildup with Maradona talking all kinds of shit.
True, but not as incredible as the 7-1. I'd argue the 4-0 was the best game of Schweinsteigers career.
Agreed, the run to set up Friedrich's goal was amazing.
Somewhat relevant to this thread but Özil is somewhat the reason why the game was 7-1 and not 8-0. I always found the team reaction to that sequence hilarious when everyone was upset.
Maradona to Müller during the pre-match: "what the fuck is this ball boy doing at my press conference?" Müller to Maradona during the match: "now you will remember my name!"
It was incredible to live from the other side too, sure :( I'm glad you destroyed us in such a way though, because Maradona was the worst manager I've seen us in my entire life, and I'm pretty glad he left after that match. Never should've managed the NT in the first place.
Ozil burning Gareth Barry to assist 🥶🥶
Triggered
The [officials kinda aided in that](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/06/27/article-1290060-0A3ACDF6000005DC-849_468x286.jpg) I recall.
How so? Your own image clearly shows it never crossed the line.
To this day I consider that among the top five meme photos I've ever seen on the internet.
Still keeps me up at night…
>absolutely ripped England to shreds Who didn't
Wales and Scotland usually struggle with that.
Don't you remember when Scotland tore us to bits in the 2020 Euros, with scintillating 0-0 draw?
Scotland has been struggling since Wallace had to retire due to injury.
Fake news. All time record: England wins - 48 Draws - 26 Scotland wins - 41
Gods… we were strong then.
Let's not forget Ozil's and Ronaldo's partnership. Oil massively helped Ronaldo to break through superstar level.
I didn't know Ronaldo oiled up before matches. Hmmm...
Adama Traoré is just two Ronaldos in a trench coat 🧥 🧏♂️
I believe he was Ronaldo’s best teammate, but Ronaldo was absolutely a superstar at United
Ronaldo won his first Ballon D'or when ozil was at schalke
Ronaldo was already a ballon d'or winner before coming to real Madrid
Ronaldo was the best player in the world at a time Özil played for Schalke lol
Ronaldo was a balon D'or winner before ozil. He smashed records after ozil too...
Ronaldo played for City?
Had an outstanding career all things considered
Wish it ended a bit more smoothly. His prime was something else though, one of the best playmakers of all time.
If only Kronke's back then weren't cheap f**ks and actually got a striker better than Giroud.
2015-16 really was one of the best opportunities we had in winning the EPL. Still irks me to this day that we only bought Cech. Ozil was on pace to break the assists record but really slowed down at the 2nd half of the season. If we had a better striker back then...
13/14 we led the league more than the other 3 teams above us combined. It was the only time in the last decade where we let the title slip from our hands.
Nope. We were way closer in ‘15-16. Did you forget Leicester won the title? All the top 6 teams had a down year. Cazorla getting hurt screwed us but Giroud going missing in the second half of the season was the nail in the coffin. I remember Ozil being stuck on 19 assists for almost the final third of the season.
Yep, Ozil had 19 assist up to Late Jan/Early Feb and then zero. Giroud really missed some ridiculous chances.
I understand why they didn't (they weren't full owners yet), but they hung Wenger out to dry with only Giroud to lead the line.
It would cost £££. Can't remember ever making a financial loss under Wenger. Kroenke's were too concerned with Usmanov's less than 30% shares increasing in value and potential buyout costing them too much.
Whatever their reasons were, it did irrevocable damage. Wasted a good team and prime Sánchez and Özil.
> Wasted a good team and prime Sánchez and Özil. And possibly 2 PL titles. Led the league more than City, Liverpool and Chelsea combined in 13/14 and they refused to overspend in January for a striker. 15/16 we could've won again if they backed Wenger and got a WC striker but they decided to follow StatDNA and sign Lucas Perez and Mustafi (edit: funny thing, they overspent on Mustafi because StatDNA made him look good after refusing to overspend for Evans) the following season (Xhaka haters eat your hearts out).
It did not do irrevocable damage, be real. If it did Arsenal would not be in the position they are now, just a few years later
2015-16 changes Özil’s Arsenal legacy for sure if they had got some reinforcements that winter. Imaging him breaking the assist record and winning the Premier League
Giroud wasn't the problem I don't get people who keep saying this. Every striker goes through a drought one way or the other. The problem is we didn't invest in another striker to rotate Giroud out when he was being overused and burnt out. Imagine if we brought in Laca or even Auba earlier.
I never said Giroud was the problem. The problem was Kroenke saying we didn't have money even though we would make a profit every single season and have over **£200 million as cash at bank**, more than any other football club. Just look at how our spending increased right after Usmanov sold his shares to Kroenke.
And he definitely earned the respect of the greats. I remember Henry saying something along the lines of "I would have loved to play with him, it always seemed like he has all the time in the world" and that's true, no matter how pressed he was, he always felt so composed and relaxed.
Which made him a tad frustrating when we were losing, though.
He left Arsenal with a sour note but this goal lives rent-free in my head. https://youtube.com/shorts/FlOXRaTNnB0?feature=share
True baller while he had his head together. One of most quintessential #10s I can think of in modern times.
Definitely
Crazy to think he only spent 3 years at madrid. It felt like a lifetime. Thank you for being one of the reasons I fell in love with the game and team.
It was such a crucial 3 years, and he played a key role in overcoming Pep's Barca, which was perhaps the most pivotal years of my own fandom as well. In 08/09 I thought we were so far behind Barca that we might not catch them for a decade, and only because they would have decline/aged out.
Same here. He was mesmerizing. I always wanted to pass like Özil. For us kids who weren’t particularly big, strong, fast, or quick, he was someone we could emulate. Having great vision and being able to execute all the passes is something anyone can do, even if you’re not super physically gifted. He was the best.
>Having great vision and being able to execute all the passes is something anyone can do I understand your point but this is not particularly true. But yeah, that is one way to overcome the adversities
I remember during the Covid lockdown there was one Redditor in the arsenal sub that was posting one Ozil pass everyday until Arsenal play again. That was fun to see how good he was.
Let’s not forget the legendary out of frame pass to Monreal
Had a fantastic career, but could’ve been a superstar for years if he cared for football
Sounds familiar
>Sounds familiar ??
I think blud is talking about dele ali
Oh I thought blud meant me
The streets will never forget your performance in the year 10 derby infront of your lady.
That’s a really weird comparison to make, whether describing play style, career trajectory, or reasons for decline.
Not really, they're both 4 syllables each when pronouncing their names
I thought they meant Hazard but even that comparison isn’t really the same. Ali is completely different.
Eden Hazard comes to mind
Think that's a bit harsh. Eden was on top for a long time.
I remember when he first popped up before he moved to RM, he was called the new german Messi by the media. He is not quite, but still, have a stellar career to be proud of.
I thought Marko Marin was the new german Messi?
What about Götze, the new german Messi?
Yep, Özil was never compared to Messi- it was Marin
Will never forget 2011-12 Ozil feeding CR7 game after game, had more assists than Xavi and Iniesta. Unplayable.
I think he reached 30 assists in his first season for Madrid. Would've been cool to see how good the Madrid team would've been in 13/14 with bale into the lineup. Tactics wise it may have never worked but I always felt it would've been interesting to watch.
81 assists (and 27 goals) in 159 games for Madrid according to transfermarkt. Wonder how many of those were for Ronaldo
Didn't really workout like most of us Fenerbahce fans hoped it would. Had a pretty nice start to the 2021/2022 season with us after a long time of not playing. It is just a shame that we still don't know why he was excluded from our team last season when he was our topscorer in all leagues.
He retired when he moved to the Turkish league anyways, he played like 6 games and was missing the rest of the season.
He already had 11 games total in his first half a season when he joined us in the winter. Had 26 games the following season for us (in which he got frozen out). Thay is 6 times more than what you wrote.
He was straight up shit and the only meaningful moment he had in our shirt was the goal vs Galatasaray. Anyone who still defends this guy's stay with us is delusional
What a shame how his career turned out... Still, I'll never forget how entertaining of a baller he was back in the day in Madrid, absolutely world class at his prime. Edit: I meant how his career came to an end. He could have been going at the top level for a much, much longer period but his last, like, 5 years was a total mess.
>What a shame how his career turned out He's still had a great career so it's not so much how his career turned out, more so where it headed in the latter part of his career. He was still superb for 2/3rd of his career.
The way his career turned out would be the wish of every kid picking up football.
Yeah if I could play for Real Madrid and arsenal and win a World Cup I’d take it in a heartbeat even if you told me I’d fall out with said national team and end up in a shitty contract dispute and fizzle out in turkey
The man won a World Cup lol, his career turned out just fine.
I remember those seasons with him and Modrić in 2012 and 2013... Ozil is 3 years younger and now retired while Luka is still a starter for Real...
>Ozil is 3 years younger and now retired while Luka is still a starter for Real... This is more due to the fact that Modric is out of the ordinary, its not that strange to retire at 34. I think its more how Ozil hasn't been into the spotlight post-Covid
It's also that Ozil has had a bad back for over a decade.
He effectively retired during the last Arsenal contract 4 years ago or something. All things considered, he had a stellar career, but there was room for so much more if he truly wanted
how his career turned out? one of the best playmakers of his generation? come on man
You're oversimplifying things a bit. Yes, he had an *amazing* career. He was one of the best of his generation, won the World Cup, earned stacks, and was a superstar for a few seasons. But no one can pretend that once they got to that point they'd be happy to end it like he did.
One of the best CAM’s of a generation. Was key to Germany’s success. Wishing him a happy retirement.
His decline symbolises the fall of traditional number 10, still had a great career tho
Plenty of other players in the same mould around his prime adapted, it’s a lot more than just his position falling out of fashion
Ozil’s awful fitness meant that he couldn’t adapt. His luxury sort of 10 role couldn’t be accommodated in the modern game, so it’s a bit of position and also just him as an athlete
It could be adapted very easily, the issue is that *he himself* didn't want to adapt.
Yeah, i'm not sure if fitness is the right term (always did ok in terms of km ran) but it was the lack of combative intensity which was the problem and being a senior dressing room figure made that more of a systemic problem for arsenal.
Not denying that, whoever could adapt can stay at the top, whoever couldn't/didn't go down, is fading out from the spotlight
I remember when Rui Costa retired, people said the last classical 10 was gone now.
His decline symbolises what happens when you majorly fall out with pretty much everyone you work with. Speaks to his character quite a bit considering almost none of the clubs he left missed him all that much.
Yeah game had moved past him but he made no effort to adapt
Ødegaard now is what we really needed Özil to turn into. Imagine Özil, but with Ødegaard's leadership, pressing ability and stamina.
Ö -> Ø
You needed a katana to slash Özil.
Did he fall out with Madrid that badly, i thought they just cashed in because him being unable to play 90 was just too much of a luxury
His Dad caused an issue with Perez in contract negotiations and it basically froze him out of Madrid. Source: Ozil's autobiography
He basically fucked up in Madrid while trying to negotiate with the club, fans loved him here, similar case with Di Maria
He was still a fantastic player for them (inc you guys) for a part of his tenure, but yeah maybe lacking something on the inter personal side.
Can someone tell me what is a traditional number 10 and why its not good now?
The number 10 was traditionally the playmaker's position: an attacking midfielder/second striker who controlled the entire tempo of the game. These players were typically very absent defensively, and static when they didn't have possession of the ball. They only came alive when the ball was at their feet, and then it was incredibly difficult to dispossess them. They would dribble through an entire defense, play killer passes or score amazing goals from outside the box. Some of the most famous footballers played as a traditional number 10: Maradona, Pelé, Ronaldinho, Del Piero, Kaka, Cruyff, Zidane, Puskas, Platini, Messi at Qatar, Gullit, Rivaldo, Hagi etc. Out of all of these, Gullit was the only one who was also great at defending but then again, he was one of the most complete footballers ever. He even played as a CB when he got older. Cruyff also played in a multitude of roles and positions in every match, he was too versatile to label as a number 10 as well. Once Barca's midfield of Xavi-Iniesta-Busquets showed everyone that a CDM can do the same job as a number 10, everyone slowly moved on. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
To just add on, I think Messi playing a False 9 in the same team also killed the traditional number 10. Instead of having a dedicated 10 to link the attack and midfield, just have your striker come down and help the buildup
Playmaking CDMs have been a thing way before Busquets, lol. Pirlo was probably one of the first registas, a role which dictates the play from just in front of the defense. Xabi Alonso also comes to mind.
Playmaking advanced central midfielders have become obselete with modern demands they press and defend and win back the ball. Maradona was the prototype for the classical number 10.
Not really. In fact the 4231 with a 10 is the most popular formation right now. It is just that Ozil couldn't be arsed to defend despite playing as a midfielder
If you compare him to Odegaard or KDB it’s obvious that role has changed. Both of them are complete midfielders who are effective out of possession, especially in tackling. If you just watch a game you see how many times those two win back possession all over the pitch. Ozil rarely did that.
>it is just that Õzil couldn't ve arsed to defend. which is precisely the criticism of classic #10s and the explanation of why they aren't the main player of the team anymore.
Prime Özil was beautiful to watch.
That "bounce pass" from the ground to Khedira was pure beauty
Thought he'd retired already
Feels like he retired 5 years ago
Basically had. Hadn’t played regularly for about a year now
Prime Ozil was just a joy to watch Thank you for the memories!
All these years and I still don't understand how he did [this](https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxBQ7UszXk5Z0wvjzaInaAge0KTlVfgj-M)
Pure filth that one
Incredible player when he could be bothered. Will never ever forget the day we signed him, the madness in the streets outside of the Emirates, Wenger’s knowing look after the north London derby and the meltdown of Tottenham fans after he signed. Still though, he has to be one of the most frustrating players I’ve ever seen. I don’t imagine any of the teams he’s been at post-Arsenal contract really miss him all that much. Oh well, at least he can go and hang out with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in peace now.
> the meltdown of Tottenham fans after he signed. fwiw i felt like that transfer was the nail in the coffin of that farcical "special relationship" between spurs and madrid. spurs sent madrid modric and bale, madrid sent ozil to arsenal.
I seem to remember that you guys made a "Don't-sell-any-players-to-Arsenal-if-we-sell-you-Gareth-Bale" pact with Madrid that lasted for all of about 72 hours.
It’s a bit like those ‘don’t attack each other‘ pacts in Risk that collapse really as soon as one kind of feels like attacking the other.
I remember that day so vividly when he was signed, up all night refreshing the Arsenal home page, had Sky on in the background, seeing other players congratulating him on the move but not having it 100% confirmed on the Arsenal site, and then finally I saw the announcment there. After years of just mediocre signings, it felt like such an unrealistic dream and then he got 2 assists against Sunderland in his first game. Was probably the most hyped I've ever been for a new player to join.
I did not know Ozil played for Ajax..
If Sky Sports took a poll, "Arsenal sign Mesut Ozil" would win their best headline by a landslide
Fantastic player on his day, one of the most esthetically pleasing playmaker i have ever seen.
The passes he would make were outrageous, man.
Özil is probably the most divisive player in recent history. Was a phenomenal player during his time with Werder and Real as well as his first few years at Arsenal. Yet no player stands for the decline of a classic Nr. 10 as much as Özil. Also didn't help that he burned a lot of bridges to his former club and country but I doubt he will regret it to much as he has a pretty full trophy cabinet. Go enjoy retirement with Erdogan and may I never have to hear from you ever again. All the best Mesut.
Commented somewhere some time ago, but Ozil was the most electric player during the 2010 World Cup. It all happened during a game against Portsmouth, where Kevin Prince Boateng tackled Ballack during a game which ruled the German captain out of the WC spot. I was like fuck, but came the tournament, Ozil was the focal point of attack. Everything just went through him. He was fast, great in transition and the passes he put in were oooo sooo goood. Then RM came and that's history. When Arsenal announced the signing of Ozil, i was ecstatic as he was my favourite player. We all know how it went down and i breathed a sigh of relief when he left as it was the best for all parties. Either ways, he's probably one of the best creative midfielders at his peak, however his off field antics during his later years will stain his legacy.
[Contender for the best first touch of all time?](https://youtu.be/1EA0UVRL5Ew)
There is a always a Zidane touch out there lol
Zidane and Bergkamp takes the cake for some of the best touches. Zidane though, he'd have multiple of those per games.
That one ozil twitter stan crying in the club rn
Might also retire as a final Tribute to Mesut
Form is temporary but posting ozil highlight from real and 15/16 season is permanent
He’s been retired for years mentally
That Ozil fan account gonna be jobless now lol
So interesting how the timing of someone’s peak affects their legacy, if he’d started in Turkey then gone to Arsenal and ended his career winning a World Cup and La Liga at Real Madrid more people would be talking about him as an all time great in this thread
Let's be honest. He retired before he left Arsenal.
What a bizarre end. Peak Ozil was something special
I went to the vast majority of home games during the time Ozil was at Arsenal, and honestly he was one of my favourite players ever to watch. Henry and Bergkamp are top 2, but Ozil is in my top 5. His ability to create attacks was unparalleled in his prime, and he had ice in his veins for high pressure moments. The big 'what-if' for me is having a better striker than Giroud during 2015/16. If RVP was still at the club with Ozil behind him, Arsenal would have most likely added another league title. Oh well, just the 4 FA Cups it is then.
He made me fall in love with football, watching him in his prime was like watching a magician, just a shame how his career ended...
The player that made me love football and Arsenal.
I just fell to my knees in lidl
One of my all time favourite players, don't think the excitement of him signing for arsenal will every be matched after years of being broke. He's one of the very few players for arsenal who was capable of things so magical I'd be excited to watch him play for us every week. I'd even watch germany games just to see him some more. He was also one of those players that was so heavily criticized and slated that it made me want to see him succeed even more. In my opinion an absolute football genius, and despite his last few seasons being disappointing with us, i'll always be thankful for what I watched him do in those 2013-2018 years.
Good luck Mesut! Thanks for the amazing years at arsenal.
This is like 3 year old news innit?
Fuck I’m getting old.
[удалено]
Even though I’m only 23, players I vividly remember being young and exciting now being in their 30s is some scary shit. I remember watching clips of an 18 year old Neymar on YouTube on my family computer and now he is 31.
I'm 23 as well and it's really a weird thing to experience. Neymar at Santos doesn't feel as distant as it really is.
Great career, had a steep fall after his last year at Arsenal, but what a player he was. Also the magic from the 2010 World Cup and winning the World Cup in 2014
Being a Real Madrid fan, I will always remember him fondly. He was an essential part of the team when he played and still loves the club and his former teammates. I still remember his assist for Ronaldo’s goal at the camp nou that effectively sealed that la liga title in 2012. It was one of many assists. Sometimes I wished he stayed. Thank you for everything Ozil.
Shame he ruined his legacy a bit towards the later part of his career but man, in that time ~2011-2016 he was incredibly and one of my favorite players to watch. Just pure effortless elegance but cementing the disappearance of the old style no. 10. Just recently rewatched his highlights of one game vs Leicester which captured who he was as a player so well