Ozil announces retirement from International Football

greendom

Mesut Ozil has today announced his retirement from International football.

It all stemmed from when he and Man City's Gundogan met up with the Turkish President. Coupled with this Germany had a terrible World Cup and Ozil seems to have been made the scapegoat.

In a long statement, among other things, he claims that he is seen as a German when Germany win and an immigrant when they lose.

If he feels the German FA and some of the German media are racially attacking him he had no choice but to leave the German national team.

Turtyturd

There wasn’t anything odd about ‘the Turkish fan’ was there?

greendom

Turtyturd wrote: »

There wasn’t anything odd about ‘the Turkish fan’ was there?

Sorry thats my phone's autocorrect. Did you not also wonder who Meath Ozil was? Will amend

titan18

In one statement, he says he's German and in the other (his response about meeting Erdogan), he says he's German and Turkish. He can't say he can't be called German-Turkish when he himself says it himself.

I thought he was shi1te in the WC and not sure he'd even be picked again anyway considering his age and performances. It's unlikely he's around at the next WC anyway so Germany are better off blooding youngsters.

He effectively equated Merkel with Erdogan in his statement and didn't post a German version, which clearly shows his attitude towards Germany anyway. That or his PR team are just inept.

Will I Am Not

Every other German player in the lineup before games was belting out the national anthem. Özil just stood there and kept his mouth shut. I doubt he sees himself as German, never mind what the fans think.

riffmongous

It's an interesting one considering our own history with the granny rule. From reading his statement, he's seems very pissed off with the head of the DFB.

Jesus he was also called a goatf'cker by a german politician, that would put a dampner on your enthusiasm to represent a country anyway

~Rebel~

I've always liked Ozil, was hugely disappointed when he did those photos with Erdogan. He seems very naive about the whole thing, saying it's the office he was paying respect to, not the man, and that his presence wasn't an endorsement - but that's exactly what it was visually, whether he likes it or not. If you appear in a picture with a guy like that, with such controversial, dogmatic, and frankly scray policies, the immediate takeaway of any Turkish citizen is that you're supporting him. Same as no American could do a big smiley photoshoot with Trump and be able to distance themselves from the bigotry he embodies.

Erdogan is one of the quietly scariest things happening in the world right now, and stuff like this is exactly what legitimizes him and his regime further.

kona

Football and politics dont mix. Ozil is a thick.

Fann Linn

Will I Am Not wrote: »

Every other German player in the lineup before games was belting out the national anthem. Özil just stood there and kept his mouth shut. I doubt he sees himself as German, never mind what the fans think.

I wouldn't benchmark the singing of an national anthem as patriotism. If that were the case we would have plenty of cause for concern from rugby and soccer players also.

namloc1980

Ozils logic makes no sense:

"I have two hearts, one Turkish, one German".

"How dare you call me a German-Turkish!".

i think thats a very fair statement, and if you are saying that football and politics dont mix then that should work both ways. i dont think you can take a footballer to task for posing for a picture with his ancestral country's leader. im sure theres plenty of footballers have pics with equally objectionable individuals that arent being made this big a deal of.

he is german-turkish, and it's totally consistent to note that he's german when it suits the press and german-turkish when it suits them. we irish are hardly strangers to that phenomenon!

good luck to him, hes always been singled out for criticism despite a frankly incredible creative record (and im a spurs fan)

Will I Am Not

Fann Linn wrote: »

I wouldn't benchmark the singing of an national anthem as patriotism. If that were the case we would have plenty of cause for concern from rugby and soccer players also.

Ah I know but it looks bad when you’re the only one and especially if you’re worried about fans thinking you’re not one of their own.

marklazarcovic

Bayern president has ripped into him anyway

abcabc123123

~Rebel~ wrote: »

I've always liked Ozil, was hugely disappointed when he did those photos with Erdogan. He seems very naive about the whole thing, saying it's the office he was paying respect to, not the man, and that his presence wasn't an endorsement - but that's exactly what it was visually, whether he likes it or not. If you appear in a picture with a guy like that, with such controversial, dogmatic, and frankly scray policies, the immediate takeaway of any Turkish citizen is that you're supporting him. Same as no American could do a big smiley photoshoot with Trump and be able to distance themselves from the bigotry he embodies.

Erdogan is one of the quietly scariest things happening in the world right now, and stuff like this is exactly what legitimizes him and his regime further.

I agree with most of that. It was foolish for Ozil to take the photo but at the same time, it should be acknowledged that he was in a tough position - he'd be pilloried in Turkey if he turned Erdogan down and it got out.

Not that this is really the issue. We've just had a world cup in Russia where loads of footballers and pols queued up to take a photo with Putin, who is just as bad. Isn't that the same thing? Where does Matthaus get off attacking Ozil when he's so delighted to rub shoulders with Putin? That WC was a massive propaganda win for Putin. Hands up who boycotted it. Anyone?

Ozil is not perfect but he's right to be annoyed that he doesn't get the same latitude that others do. I admire the way he's put himself out there on this - can't be easy. White supremacists are emboldened in Germany these days, and it can be ****ing scary.

abcabc123123

marklazarcovic wrote: »

Bayern president has ripped into him anyway

It's reassuring to see that Mr Hoeness has turned the corner and become such a thoughtful, conscientious young man after his time in the clink. Rehabilitation works!

LuckyLloyd

When was the last time Ozil took a pressure game by the scruff of the neck for club or country?

ERG89

LuckyLloyd wrote:

When was the last time Ozil took a pressure game by the scruff of the neck for club or country?

He did great just before signing the contract in the winter after it the only thing of note was him not playing in a lot of league matches. In general though he's not done a lot unless you count the FA Cup as a major honor which I personally don't.
His best tournament for Germany was the 2010 World Cup. I think they played better football in that tournament than in 2014 imo.

Esse85

Based on his last few games for Germany, he won't be missed. When the chips are down his attitude and pathetic attempts to even make an effort get exposed.
He's got vision of a fella with eyes in the back of his head, equally his reluctance to shoot in goal scoring opportunities is baffling.
If Sane continues his club form like he played last season he could turn out to be a ready made replacement.
Ozil to me just resembles a player with too much money to care about making an effort or using his brain off the pitch.

kona

Deleted User wrote: »

he is german-turkish, and it's totally consistent to note that he's german when it suits the press and german-turkish when it suits them. we irish are hardly strangers to that phenomenon!

greendom

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

When was the last time Ozil took a pressure game by the scruff of the neck for club or country?

He didn't have a great season to be honest. But with a new manager at the helm and not having international football to worry about, hopefully he'll be back to his best in an Arsenal shirt, at least.

LuckyLloyd

greendom wrote: »

He didn't have a great season to be honest. But with a new manager at the helm and not having international football to worry about, hopefully he'll be back to his best in an Arsenal shirt, at least.

No, he didn't, did he? He's yesterday's man. His International career was likely over whether he liked it or not. This stuff is an obfuscation of a player failing to perform when it counts for some time now.

machiavellianme

I thought he retired before the WC, such were his performances.
No loss anyway, there's plenty available to backfill at a much higher level.

Skylinehead

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

No, he didn't, did he? He's yesterday's man. His International career was likely over whether he liked it or not.

What are you basing that on? Jogi Low loves Ozil. No way he'd be left out.

Ozil wasn't particularly good at the World Cup, but he was far from the worst. Kroos (free kick aside) was disastrous, and Muller did absolutely nothing. Of course, they won't be targeted.

Nixonbot

Nixonbot wrote: »

What are you basing that on? Jogi Low loves Ozil. No way he'd be left out.

Overhaul coming.

Ozil wasn't particularly good at the World Cup, but he was far from the worst. Kroos (free kick aside) was disastrous, and Muller did absolutely nothing. Of course, they won't be targeted.

Kroos's free kick that only kept them in the tournament at that point. Fairly big deal.
Yes Muller was awful but he hadn't drawn negative attention to himself beforehand.

LuckyLloyd

Nixonbot wrote: »

What are you basing that on? Jogi Low loves Ozil. No way he'd be left out.

Ozil wasn't particularly good at the World Cup, but he was far from the worst. Kroos (free kick aside) was disastrous, and Muller did absolutely nothing. Of course, they won't be targeted.

Who knows who will be targeted? Germany will make sweeping changes, and Ozil hasn't got a key performance to his name in quite some time.

wonga77

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

No, he didn't, did he? He's yesterday's man. His International career was likely over whether he liked it or not. This stuff is an obfuscation of a player failing to perform when it counts for some time now.

German international of the year in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. He must have been doing something right all along. Its only in the last year or so his performance has dipped, especially at international level. At 29 (30 in Oct) he has plenty mileage left in him

Skylinehead

Deleted User wrote: »

Overhaul coming.



Kroos's free kick that only kept them in the tournament at that point. Fairly big deal.

And it was his mistake that put them in that position in the first place....one of quite a few uncharacteristic terrible passes by him. I haven't even mentioned Boateng, worst of the lot.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Who knows who will be targeted? Germany will make sweeping changes, and Ozil hasn't got a key performance to his name in quite some time.

"Who knows" - come on, now you're just speculating. At least try to put some context on your posts.

LuckyLloyd

wonga77 wrote: »

German international of the year in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016. He must have been doing something right all along. Its only in the last year or so his performance has dipped, especially at international level

An entire International tournament cycle. Two year dips in form at a player's supposed peak age usually means one thing. He'll be one of a very rare vintage of 30 year old players with ~600 pro games on the clock to bounce back in form. Arsenal will be desperate to offload that contract at the end of this coming season imo.

gandalf

TBH he seems to attract undue criticism. I've watched him play for Arsenal and put in good performances and then he doesn't run back for one ball and the commentators are lambasting him like they haven't watched the rest of his performance or don't realise he is not an end to end midfielder.

As for him meeting with Erdogan. It's understandable he is of Turkish origin and it was stupid but sportsmen seem to do stupid things like this. Just look at McGregor all over Putin at the WC at least Ozil has an excuse his parents are Turkish whats McGregors excuse in hugging that dictator in Moscow?

Skylinehead

gandalf wrote: »

TBH he seems to attract undue criticism. I've watched him play for Arsenal and put in good performances and then he doesn't run back for one ball and the commentators are lambasting him like they haven't watched the rest of his performance or don't realise he is not an end to end midfielder.

Body language makes him an easy target. And boy do pundits like easy targets, without them they'd have to actually do their job!

LuckyLloyd

McGregor makes money off being controversial, and will likely fight a major Russian MMA fighter as his next contest. It's a knowing move on his part.

FixitFelix

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

An entire International tournament cycle. Two year dips in form at a player's supposed peak age usually means one thing. He'll be one of a very rare vintage of 30 year old players with ~600 pro games on the clock to bounce back in form. Arsenal will be desperate to offload that contract at the end of this coming season imo.

Talking out your arse now

LuckyLloyd

Nixonbot wrote: »

Body language makes him an easy target. And boy do pundits like easy targets, without them they'd have to actually do their job!

Leading a team sliding down the table contributes to him being an easy target.

LuckyLloyd

FixitFelix wrote: »

Talking out your arse now

Or saying things you don't like? £350k per week is a lot of money. I understand Arsenal fans needing it to be one way. I think it's the other way - we'll know in due course.

Skylinehead

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Leading a team sliding down the table contributes to him being an easy target.

Leading a team...right. Despite the fact that he's clearly not a leader. Can you actually say something accurate in this conversation please? You're a good poster but this is laughable, between that and the very notion of Jogi Low dropping him from future squads entirely.

LuckyLloyd

Nixonbot wrote: »

Leading a team...right. Despite the fact that he's clearly not a leader. Can you actually say something accurate in this conversation please? You're a good poster but this is laughable, between that and the very notion of Jogi Low dropping him from future squads entirely.

He's your highest paid player, your offensive fulcrum. Him being a traditional "leader" or not is irrelevant - he should be the key cog in this Arsenal side and his performances have dipped in tandem with Arsenal's results.

It's the type of dip that seems terminal to me, given his age and stage in his career he is at. This last contract makes him, so his fall off the cliff in performances since it was signed should worry Arsenal fans. You're choosing to see the positives in him being freed from International football. You're entitled to your opinion. One of us is right or wrong here. Time will tell...

Skylinehead

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

He's your highest paid player, your offensive fulcrum. Him being a traditional "leader" or not is irrelevant - he should be the key cog in this Arsenal side and his performances have dipped in tandem with Arsenal's results.

It's the type of dip that seems terminal to me, given his age and stage in his career he is at. This last contract makes him, so his fall off the cliff in performances since it was signed should worry Arsenal fans. You're choosing to see the positives in him being freed from International football. You're entitled to your opinion. One of us is right or wrong here. Time will tell...

I actually haven't said anything regarding him being freed or otherwise, but ok.

He had niggling injury problems since the turn of the year (also when he signed the contract), if that turns out to be permanent then yeah, I wouldn't argue with a decline. If it's not bad injuries, then he'll keep doing what he always does, which is consistently put the ball on a plate for the forwards to do something with. And with a proper goalscorer finally at the club, I'm reasonably optimistic, yes.

gandalf

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

McGregor makes money off being controversial, and will likely fight a major Russian MMA fighter as his next contest. It's a knowing move on his part.

So that makes it ok then.......:rolleyes:

keano_afc

From what I remember he created 2 pretty decent chances for Germany in that Korea game. Like at Arsenal, he gets unfairly criticised for other players failings.

abcabc123123

keano_afc wrote: »

From what I remember he created 2 pretty decent chances for Germany in that Korea game. Like at Arsenal, he gets unfairly criticised for other players failings.

OptaJoe commented on this earlier today - Ozil created 11 chances in his two matches; nobody created as many chances per 90 at the world cup.

The stats and the criticism have really held much correlation when it comes to Ozil. Orbinho did a comparison between himself and Sanchez walking/jogging/running/sprinting and he came off favourably, which is interesting considering the perception of the two couldn't be more opposed.

LuckyLloyd

Nixonbot wrote: »

I actually haven't said anything regarding him being freed or otherwise, but ok.

Yep, it was greendom who suggested it, apologies.

Nixonbot wrote: »

He had niggling injury problems since the turn of the year (also when he signed the contract), if that turns out to be permanent then yeah, I wouldn't argue with a decline. If it's not bad injuries, then he'll keep doing what he always does, which is consistently put the ball on a plate for the forwards to do something with. And with a proper goalscorer finally at the club, I'm reasonably optimistic, yes.

If he gets back firing and if Arsenal finally have a reliable striker then it stands to reason that Arsenal will be much more competitive this year. We shall see.

gandalf wrote: »

So that makes it ok then.......:rolleyes:

I didn't say it was okay, did I? An awful lot of McGregor's behaviour is buffoonish in the extreme.

froog

i dunno, i spoke with a few german football fans during the world cup and the disdain for him due to his turkish background was there, simmering away beneath the surface. they had a few flimsy "talking points" ready for why they didn't like him but it was obvious.

greendom

https://twitter.com/MichaelKeshani/status/1021455415421304832?s=19

brianregan09

Its the media thing to critcise Ozil , Duncan Castle on the totally football show had a right hop off him the day after Germany went out calling him the worst player at the tournament , Went pretty quite when James Richardson called him out saying he'd created something like the most chances in a single game or something like that.

Someone else nailed it the English media don't like anyone that has a languid lazy looking attitude on the field , yeah the last season he hasn't been at his world class best , but he's also been carrying an injury the last 6 or so months

Delighted for him to finally strike back at his detractors , Where's the hate for Gundogan he met him aswell and also did **** all at the World Cup

Soups123

abcabc123123 wrote: »

OptaJoe commented on this earlier today - Ozil created 11 chances in his two matches; nobody created as many chances per 90 at the world cup.

The stats and the criticism have really held much correlation when it comes to Ozil. Orbinho did a comparison between himself and Sanchez walking/jogging/running/sprinting and he came off favourably, which is interesting considering the perception of the two couldn't be more opposed.

It's post like this and the one from Keano AFC non Arsenal fans will skip over. His job is to create it always had been, he created more chances than anyone else yet apparently he was poor and didn't do his job. It's the same with his game coverage more often than not he finishes top in the KMs per game coverage.

It's lazy journalism and lazy fan critic to say he doesn't do enough. Germany had nobody up top decent enough to finish any of the 11 chances he created.

Yes he went off the boil after Xmas for Arsenal, but he was just 1 of 20 odd players who did.

Alfred Borden

:pac::pac:

https://twitter.com/ChrisWheatley_/status/1021524787540185089