Jose Mourinho Strengthens Real Madrid Midfield By Signing Mesut Ozil
Jose Mourinho continues to make his midfield stronger in a bid to challenge Barcelona, who are supposedly stronger in this particular area. For this purpose, Mourinho has signed Mesut Ozil from Werder Bremen.
Mesut Ozil was part of the young German side that shook the very core of supposed 'dominant' teams during their 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign in South Africa. During the World Cup, Ozil was declared as an exceptional talent, with abilities to match even Lionel Messi, the best player of this generation.
The big plus for the German team during this World Cup was that they introduced a new brand of youngsters in international football, as senior players were replaced because of injury issues. Mesut Ozil is one of those rare talents who did not come into the limelight before the World Cup. However, his performances in South Africa were more than enough to secure him a place in the biggest club in Europe, Real Madrid.
Ozil has been doing great at the club level as well. Last season, he came up with nine goals and twelve assists for Bremen in the German Bundesliga. During the recent World Cup, he came up with three assists and one goal for Germany, and he was a major part of Germany's 4-1 victory over England. Therefore, following the World Cup, many clubs were taking keen interest in signing Ozil, including Manchester United and Madrid’s archrivals, Barcelona. The player showed intent to remain in Germany, but Mourinho was able to get a deal at the dying moments.
Mesut Ozil has all the qualities of a great midfielder, which would make him immensely important for Real Madrid. The young German has a great vision for passing and giving through-balls. Also, he has got great control which helps him retain possession at crucial times; a great quality of a holding midfielder. Combined with these great attributes, Ozil also has a tremendous shot from distance, and his technique is superb. All these qualities make Ozil indispensible for any team in Europe.
However, he is still a youngster and has to improve a lot, especially in order to be termed as equal to Lionel Messi. He has shown a lot of inconsistency, with an inability to withstand pressure. This was obvious during Germany's defeat to Spain. During the same match, Ozil seemed to be nowhere on the field for the most part. Also, due to his physique, he was unable to handle the physical pressure exerted by the Spanish defenders. Nevertheless, Mourinho is a coach that has always loved to work with such players, which means that Madrid would be Ozil’s greatest learning experience.
During an interview with the press, Ozil said that Mourinho pursued him to join Real Madrid. He said that his head was clear about his options, as he always wanted to play under a coach like Jose Mourinho. Mourinho also praised Ozil during his interview. He said that the German is a perfect player for Madrid, and he can play in Spain for almost ten years. This summer, Raul and midfielder Guti have left Real Madrid, so this statement was issued by Mourinho to reassure the fans that Ozil has the potential to become a legend in Madrid’s colours.
Ozil is a great signing for Mourinho, especially at this critical juncture. Right now, Kaka has been sidelined due to injury, and he is rumoured to stay out for more than two months. During this time, Ozil would be perfect to fill in his shoes, as the season starts from the last week of August.
On the other hand, this might be bad news for Kaka, who would see Ozil as his replacement. There is no doubt that Kaka is well past his best, and he can easily be replaced by someone like Ozil, who is young and yet to reach his full potential. Nevertheless, Mourinho is matching Barcelona in quality as well as in numbers, so this signing has promised to make the next season more interesting than before.
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