Mesut Özil retires from "die Mannschaft"

fcbforever

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The meeting with Erdogan is probably not Ozil's best decision but the treatment he got from DFB, media and some fans is a disgrace.

And reading this thread, are you guys seriously defending Trump here? In a thread about a Muslim immigrant football player being treated badly? Really?
For all his failures, Trump is no Erdogan. Not to mention that a similar photo by any other member of the NT in a maga hat alongside Trump would have resulted in the very same reaction by the public.
 

RW2

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Maybe Ozil has just realised, after 90 or so caps.for Germany, that he's not playing for "my president" and "my country"?
 

LazyRed-Ninja

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I'm extremely aware of proxy strategies in general and in Syria especially. Way more than you are especially, since Iran, the Saudis and others do not exist for you and Russia seems to be a legitimate combatant in your opinion. So let's get that out of the way.

If replied to a similar post of yours and I do not think you are worth replying to any further. If you think that Baschar al-Assad is a credible source in any way, my actual opinion of you would get me banned here.
Russia, Trump and former CIA head operatives are also not trustworthy right?
 

Liver_bird

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Ozil probably isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but the criticism has been over the top. Germany need to build for the next world cup anyways and I don't think he'll have been there.
 

JuveGER

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It's actually very relevant considering the overall context of this discussion which centers around the geopolitical strategy of proxy wars - which entails the aiding and funding of rebels to overthrow the functioning goverment.
No, it's not relevant at all. What is relevant is the context of Obama's speech. What he said before that little clip that you posted and afterwards. If you look at the words, it does not make sense at all to use "ISIL" where he did. Even if the US did train ISIL, it does not make sense to say it the way he did. It's obviously a blip and it's embarassing to use that as "evidence".

Russia, Assad, Trump, former CIA operatives are all on record stating that the USA under the administation of Obama were aiding and supporting 'moderate rebels ' (ISIS, Al Aqaida etc). Were all these people blatantly lying??
Yeah, because neither Russia, Assad, Trump nor CIA operatives have a history of lying... Anyway, the US probably did support moderate rebels. But your equation of those rebels with ISIS and Al Qaida is dishonest. Anyway, this is going way off topic. I was reacting to your embarassing little video. If you can't see how embarassing and dishonest it is to use this video as "evidence", then I can't help you. I won't waste any more time with this BS.

Edit: Sorry, did not see Big-Red's post when quoting. Anyway, I am done here.
 

Alex99

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No, it's not relevant at all. What is relevant is the context of Obama's speech. What he said before that little clip that you posted and afterwards. If you look at the words, it does not make sense at all to use "ISIL" where he did. Even if the US did train ISIL, it does not make sense to say it the way he did. It's obviously a blip and it's embarassing to use that as "evidence".



Yeah, because neither Russia, Assad, Trump nor CIA operatives have a history of lying... Anyway, the US probably did support moderate rebels. But your equation of those rebels with ISIS and Al Qaida is dishonest. Anyway, this is going way off topic. I was reacting to your embarassing little video. If you can't see how embarassing and dishonest it is to use this video as "evidence", then I can't help you. I won't waste any more time with this BS.
Where does Ozil fit into this?
 

LazyRed-Ninja

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No, it's not relevant at all. What is relevant is the context of Obama's speech. What he said before that little clip that you posted and afterwards. If you look at the words, it does not make sense at all to use "ISIL" where he did. Even if the US did train ISIL, it does not make sense to say it the way he did. It's obviously a blip and it's embarassing to use that as "evidence".



Yeah, because neither Russia, Assad, Trump nor CIA operatives have a history of lying... Anyway, the US probably did support moderate rebels. But your equation of those rebels with ISIS and Al Qaida is dishonest. Anyway, this is going way off topic. I was reacting to your embarassing little video. If you can't see how embarassing and dishonest it is to use this video as "evidence", then I can't help you. I won't waste any more time with this BS.

Edit: Sorry, did not see Big-Red's post when quoting. Anyway, I am done here.
But you would believe the CIA if they admit they were aiding Al Aqaida in Libya and at the time classified Al Aqaida as the ones who were responsible for 911.

What logic would you apply to a contradiction?..

Anyway, no more political comments from me on this thread. This was the last one.

Have a good one fellas.
 

fellaini's barber

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That's as pathetic and ignorant a comment as Özil's in his Tweet where he says that "My job is as a football player, not as a politician, and a meeting was not an endorsement of any policies. In fact, we spoke about the same topic that we do every time we have met - football".

He can't be so ignorant and foolish as to not realise what kind of a message it sends out to the world when someone of his fame and profile meets Erdogan so warmly for a public press opportunity shortly before the Turkish elections?!

If, hypothetically, someone like Theresa May, Boris Johnson, or Rees-Mogg, (or, somehow, Erdogan) wanted me to meet them for a session of shaking hands and grinning like a moron with them in front of the press I'd tell those vermin to get stuffed. Either that, or I'd use the opportunity of being invited to meet them to heavily criticise them and tell them what for.
Lol, probably why none of them will be interested in meeting you. Could you out of interest give us a list of heads of state that deserve the honour of meeting with you?


If, for the sake of argument, David Beckham was half Zimbabwean and had photos taken with Robert Mugabe there would have been a fecking shitstorm - and rightly so.
He posed with Blair and Cameron though and there wasn't any. Those two have shed more blood between them than Mugabe ever will
 

buchansleftleg

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feel sorry that he has been left out to dry by the German FA. He was a footballer having his picture taken next to a visiting politician. Erdogan may well be an odious Creep but this was a simple act of a celebrity meeting a politician, not a stage managed show of support, agreed by his football association.....like maybe this one?

 

Don Alfredo

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Müller actually has put in good performances for club and country before this tournament. It's really, really simple. People can shove their "key pass" statistics up their ass, it doesn't change the fact that Özil has been MIA for a few years.
So you already acknowledged Ozil was better than Ozil in Russia. What about Muller‘s shithouse of a Euros in 2016? What about his 16/17 season? What about his performances in the CL KO stages in the last few years? He declined so rapidly, whereas Ozil declined a bit as well, but still plays at a much higher base level and creates chances, even when things aren‘t working.
 

do.ob

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Flat out saying Özil isn't good enough to play for die Mannschaft is quite frankly ridiculous, it's one thing to are with tactical context, but aside from that Özil's passing obviously adds a lot to the team and if it wasn't for terrible finishing by others he would have set up one or more goals vs South Korea at the WC.
 

Kasper

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Where have I talked about this WC? Everyone was shit there, just some a little less so and Özil was widely acknowledged to belong to the latter group. But three games doesn't mean we can ignore the 30+ before that.
He wasn't, he was constantly targeted as the main culprit (Basler, Hoeneß), while the disgraceful performances of Bayern players, mostly Müller, were barely mentioned. That's not a coincidence.
 

hasanejaz88

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Flat out saying Özil isn't good enough to play for die Mannschaft is quite frankly ridiculous, it's one thing to are with tactical context, but aside from that Özil's passing obviously adds a lot to the team and if it wasn't for terrible finishing by others he would have set up one or more goals vs South Korea at the WC.
Very true. It would make sense for him to not be in the team from a development perspective since he won't improve from here on but he is still clearly one of the best attacking players. Neither did he perform poorly in the World Cup as well.
 

fcbforever

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So you already acknowledged Ozil was better than Ozil in Russia. What about Muller‘s shithouse of a Euros in 2016? What about his 16/17 season? What about his performances in the CL KO stages in the last few years? He declined so rapidly, whereas Ozil declined a bit as well, but still plays at a much higher base level and creates chances, even when things aren‘t working.
On what imaginary higher level is Özil playing?
 

Grinner

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Ozil probably isn't the sharpest tool in the shed but the criticism has been over the top. Germany need to build for the next world cup anyways and I don't think he'll have been there.
Is he thick? I don't think I've ever heard him interviewed. How does one determine the thickyness of players beyond TV interviews anyway?
 

Charlie Foley

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What distinction? What is 1 as a percentage of 2?

50%, i.e. half.
A connection to a country is not a statistic.
I am guessing he feels as German as any of his teammates. And that he also feels as Turkish as his ancestors. And that one does not detract from the other.

Anyway we will just go in circles here. Have a good one
 

Don Alfredo

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On what imaginary higher level is Özil playing?
Creating more chances? Keeping possession under pressure? Not falling over the ball? Better positioning between the lines? Higher technical level? Better passing? Better dribbling? Better crossing? More involved in the build-up of attacks?

The one thing Muller always had over Ozil was his goalscoring and he completely lost that since 2016. Zero goals in the Euros, zero goals in the World Cup, didn‘t hit 10 league goals in 16/17 or 17/18.

Muller did well in producing numbers in a very dominant Heynckes team against Bundesliga teams, but be honest with yourself. He was useless in 2016 Euros, 2018 WC, 16/17 season and big games like the multiple CL clashes vs Real.
 

squiggle

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For all his failures, Trump is no Erdogan. Not to mention that a similar photo by any other member of the NT in a maga hat alongside Trump would have resulted in the very same reaction by the public.
There's a minor F2 racer who wanted to run a MAGA livery and has been widely derided.

feel sorry that he has been left out to dry by the German FA. He was a footballer having his picture taken next to a visiting politician. Erdogan may well be an odious Creep but this was a simple act of a celebrity meeting a politician, not a stage managed show of support, agreed by his football association.....like maybe this one?

1938? That's about as relevant as Ataturk.

I feel sorry for Ozil and he's been treated very poorly by some - criticism is no excuse for bigotry but you can't appear to support a brutal leader and not expect people to be critical. And morally equating a leader like Erdogan with someone like Obama, however much you're dubious about Obama's legacy, can't be defended.
 

RW2

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DFB STATEMENT ON MESUT ÖZIL
The presidential board of the German FA (DFB) addressed Mesut Özil’s announcement during a teleconference today. Özil won 92 caps for the Germany national team and helped define a very successful era, both on and indeed off the pitch. Mesut Özil played a key role in Germany lifting the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and so the DFB is and always will be incredibly grateful for his outstanding performances in Germany colours.

Diversity is a strength – not only in football – and that is why our integration efforts have a fundamental importance at every level. From the lower leagues all the way to the senior national teams, many footballers with migrant backgrounds are part of the DFB. We play and live together with our various roots, religions and cultures. What must connect us all within that, both on and off the pitch, is respecting the human rights firmly established in our constitution and standing up for the freedom of expression and freedom of the press, as well as respect, tolerance and fair play. A commitment to these core values is a prerequisite for every person who plays football for Germany.

Therefore, the pictures with Turkish president Erdogan raised questions for many people in Germany. We self-critically acknowledge that the DFB played a part in that when dealing with this issue. We also regret that Mesut Özil – unlike Jerome Boateng – feels as if he wasn’t given enough protection when made the target of racist slogans. However, it was important for Mesut Özil, like Ilkay Gündogan before him, to provide answers for this photo, regardless of the way the World Cup in Russia went. At the DFB, we win and lose together, all of us, as a team.

The DFB would have been happy for Mesut Özil to continue being part of this team on that common basis, but he has chosen otherwise. The DFB respects that, and for us as an association that wishes to be respectful to a commendable Germany international, we wish to make no public comment in regard to some statements that for us are incomprehensible in their tone and message.

For the DFB to have been associated with racism is something we emphatically reject, with regard to our ambassadors, staff members, our clubs and the work of millions of volunteers at grassroots level. The DFB has been very active with its integration efforts in Germany for many years, including the introduction of the Integration Award, creating the “1:0 für ein Willkommen” (“1-0 to open arms”) campaign and integrating tens of thousands of refugees into its footballing family. Over the past 15 years, the DFB has established its integration efforts on many levels, right though to the amateur leagues. We stand for diversity – from the representatives at the very top to the countless people working at grassroots level each and every day.

The DFB regrets Mesut Özil’s decision to step down from the national team. But it does not affect the association’s determination to continue its successful work on integration.
 

Liver_bird

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Is he thick? I don't think I've ever heard him interviewed. How does one determine the thickyness of players beyond TV interviews anyway?
Just what I heard from German posters around the time the pics emerged.
They all said Gundogan was the one who should have known better and that ozil was largely clueless
 

Vidyoyo

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Erdogan and the AKP were lauded for years in the West as they were seen as a model of Islamist democracy which could potentially provide solutions to the dysfunctional politics of the wider Islamic world. It was the Gezi Park protests in 2013 which really brought this to an end, and then the Turkish facilitation of the growth of ISIS in northern Syria which consolidated the new view of Erdogan. The post-coup ‘coup’ only confirmed this new image of Erdogan as dictator.

Erdogan is not at this point a dictator in the classic 20th century mould. But that’s more due to the restrictions the reality of the Turkish political system has placed on him than any democratic inclinations he holds. He has been implementing a long-term plan for years to subjugate all independent bodies of authority - whether the media, the military or the judiciary - under his personal control. But these institutions have very long histories of robust independence which means Erdogan has had to move extremely cautiously and slowly - he has the perfect example of what can happen when you try to implement this process too quickly in the fate of Morsi in Egypt.
Appreciate the reply. I don't know much about it all.
 

Don Alfredo

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I suspected racism when Leroy Sane wasn't selected. German FA has had an absolute shocker here.
You think Low is a racist? Cause he is the one selecting the squad. Not Bierhoff, Grindel or any of the other DFB feckers.

Since there is no evidence whatsoever for your claim, please back it up or stop sprouting bullshit.

There are many reasons to criticize Low, but racism is certainly not one of them, just because he didn‘t nominate your flavour of the month.
 

Alexit

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You think Low is a racist? Cause he is the one selecting the squad. Not Bierhoff, Grindel or any of the other DFB feckers.

Since there is no evidence whatsoever for your claim, please back it up or stop sprouting bullshit.

There are many reasons to criticize Low, but racism is certainly not one of them, just because he didn‘t nominate your flavour of the month.
You clearly didn't get the memo. We now attribute just about everything to racism nowadays.