The German's
£42m sale to Arsenal on deadline day proved unpopular with the fans and some of
the players, but the Spanish side had their reasons for dispensing with the
playmaker
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"Don't sell Ozil," they screamed. The fans had come along to
the Santiago Bernabeu to welcome new signing Gareth Bale on Monday, but they
also had a message for Florentino Perez. The president put his finger to his
lips, however, to silence the chants. And hours later, Mesut was gone.
Some of the players echoed the fans'
frustrations. "If I were in charge at Madrid, Ozil would be one of the
last to be leaving," Sergio Ramos said. And Alvaro Arbeloa added: "He
said goodbye on Sunday, but I thought he was joking. Ozil is different; there
is no-one else like him in the world - it's a shame and a big loss."
Former coach Jose Mourinho was also surprised
Madrid allowed Ozil to leave. "He is unique," the Portuguese
pondered. "The best number 10 in the world." Two years ago, Mourinho
had spoken of building a "young team for the future" at the Santiago
Bernabeu. And Ozil was supposed to be a big part of that.
Now he will not be, but Madrid's move for
Bale brought with it the need to recoup some funds and even though Real
recovered almost €60 million [£51m] through the sales of Gonzalo Higuain, Raul
Albiol and Jose Callejon to Napoli, all of that and more had been splashed on a
summer spending spree which saw Perez purchase midfielder Asier Illarramendi
for an estimated €38m [£32m], Isco for €30m [£25.3m], defender Dani Carvajal
for €6.5m [£5.5m] and pivot Casemiro for €6m [£5m]. All of that before Bale's
€100m [£86m] move from Tottenham.
Madrid had been prepared to include Angel Di
Maria in the deal to buy Bale from Spurs, but the Argentina attacker chose to
stay and fight for his future at the Bernabeu and impressed coach Carlo
Ancelotti in pre-season. When the Italian asked his forwards for extra intensity
in training, Di Maria responded. Ozil did not.
The German was included in Madrid's first
official game this term, a hard-fought 2-1 win over Betis at the Bernabeu in
which summer signing Isco shone to save his side. He had been paired with Ozil in
a four-man midfield also featuring Luka Modric and Sami Khedira, but
overshadowed the German with an assist and the late goal which gave the team
all three points.
But Betis had caused Madrid all sorts of
problems and Ancelotti called for better defensive discipline from his
midfielders. "Isco and Ozil have to learn how to defend," the Italian
said. "We need quality players, but they must work defensively. That's the
key to the season, finding the balance with quality players."
Ozil was restored to his usual role in the
centre for the trip to Granada in the second round of La Liga, but again Isco
impressed from a deeper role, while Di Maria created the only goal of the game
for Karim Benzema with a pass to Ronaldo. Substituted with an hour gone, the German
trudged off indignantly, walked straight to the showers and boarded the coach
as soon as the final whistle had been blown. It was the last time he was to be
seen on the pitch for Madrid.
On Sunday, Isco starred once again as he hit two
goals in the 3-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao. The other, a Cristiano Ronaldo
header, had come from a Di Maria free kick and, without Ozil, Madrid played
their finest football of the season.
The German had been on the bench and did not
play a single minute. And by the end of the day, his move to Arsenal had been
all agreed,
But the popular playmaker never looked likely to
be first choice under Ancelotti. The Italian was unimpressed by Ozil's attitude
in training and, although he wanted to keep the German at the club, he
understood that a sale was necessary following the significant outlay on Bale
and the funds needed to offer Ronaldo a new contract.
Madrid had long looked to remove Kaka from their
wage bill and the Brazilian moved on for free to former club AC Milan on
Monday. But still the club looked to recoup extra funds and with Di Maria
having forced his way into Ancelotti's plans, Ozil ended up being the one to
leave.
The club were also unhappy at the German's
constant push (via his father) for an improved contract. Ozil had demanded
parity with Ronaldo and, when that request was refused, asked for an additional
€2m per year. He will now double his money at Arsenal.
MESUT OZIL AT REAL MADRID: 2010-2013
|
|
|
Total games
Goals
Assists
La Liga titles
Total trophies
|
159
27
71
1
3
|
And
the move made sense. At his brilliant best, Ozil may be - as Mourinho claims -
the finest number 10 in world football. Yet too often at Madrid he would
struggle with his fitness, run out of steam late in games. Never one of the
side's strongest characters, there was also a tendency to go missing mentally
in the very big matches. When he was at his prime both physically and mentally,
he could be unplayable - but that was by no means all of the time.
With Isco and Bale on board, he was never likely
to be first choice, either. Or rarely. Lacking the defensive discipline to play
in central midfield (even compared to Modric, who won the ball back brilliantly
against Athletic), the German struggles on the right because he is unable to go
wide, lacks pace, cuts inside constantly and rarely tracks back. Both Bale and
Di Maria are better options here, in any case.
That just leaves the playmaker position and that
role is reserved for Isco. The former Malaga man is more of an all-round player
than Ozil; more athletic, quicker, taller and able to operate in a number of
different positions, the Spain star also boasts brilliant vision and tremendous
technique. Crucially, he will score goals as well. So far, he has hit three
already in just three games and also set up one of Madrid's other three strikes
in 2013-14. At 21, he is also nowhere near his peak. Whether he can go to form
such a successful association with Ronaldo remains to be seen (Ozil set up 27
goals for Cristiano in three seasons), but all of the talent is there for him
to become an ever better player than the German. Arguably, in fact, he is
already there.
So instead of being left with an unhappy player
struggling for consistency, Madrid have cashed in with the biggest sale in
their history (€42m [£35m] for Robinho in 2008 was the previous high). And
although fans will remember how Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder were forced to
move on against their will to accommodate Kaka and Ronaldo in 2009, this
transfer was as much about Ozil's attitude and unwillingness to stay and fight
as it was about making money for Madrid. So despite his tremendous talent, it
was probably the best solution in the end. The only solution.
