Video: Mesut's Goals & Assists For 2010-11 - And More Press On His Record-Breaking 2010/11 Season

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Video: Mesut's Goals & Assists For 2010-11 - And More Press Reviews Of His Record-Breaking 2010/11 Season!

26 is the magic number...



From Defensa Central -

Özil ha sido, oficialmente, el máximo asistente en toda Europa

Mesut Özil is poised to become one of the most profitable signings of recent times. The bargain arrived at the Bernabeu after having played a great World Cup for Germany and has not disappointed those who expected him to do well [and who, pray, was that?].

Such has been Özil's acclimatization in his first season with the whites in the Spanish capital  that he has been crowned the top goal-assistant in all competitions. The German has given 26 assists this season, a stratospheric figure...

While Özil was the king of the pass, he is not the only player from Real Madrid to make it to the top. Angel di Maria, with a total of 24 assists, ranked third in the table. Messi, with 25, completed the honour roll.

ARTICLE


And from the RealMadrid.com website:

"Özil es el jugador de campo del Madrid que ha disputado más partidos esta temporada"

Here is the video from the Real Madrid site. It notes he is the out-field player who made the most appearances this year. The Video is in Spanish.

And from the website - the following accompanying article, complete with stats...

Mesut ozil played in 63 games, a personal best that's made this the longest season in his career

Antonio M. Leal / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Real Madrid internationals are now officially on holiday. Mesut Ozil's games as starter with both the team and Germany make him the outfield player with most appearances on the squad.

Mesut Ozil sealed the season with a goal and a good performance in Germany's Euro 2012 qualifier against Azerbaijan. The midfielder became a fan favourite in his first year at Real Madrid and consolidated himself as a key figure on the German national team. Mesut's farewell match with Werder Bremen in the first round of the DFB Pokal was his first appearance of the campaign.

Ozil's appearances in 2010/11
Championship	Games
Real Madrid
La Liga	36
Champions League	11
Copa del Rey	6
Werder Bremen
DFB Pokal	1
Germany
Euro 2012 qualifiers	7
Friendlies	2
Total	63

Ozil's season was very successful indeed: he won the Copa del Rey title, reached the Champions League semifinals and came in second in La Liga with Real Madrid, while Germany has practically secured a spot in the Euro 2012. The midfielder earned Mourinho's confidence from the start and played in 36 league games last year.

The incredible progress he's made in recent years has allowed him to play in more than 50 games per season despite his young age. He made 59 appearances in the 2008/09 campaign, and 58 with Werder Bremen the following season, which he sealed with a brilliant performance in the World Cup. This year, he made 63 appearances and has only beaten by Iker Casillas (64).

Real Madrid outfield players with the most appearances
Ozil	63
Xabi Alonso	62
Di Maria	59
Cristiano Ronaldo	59
Benzema	58
Sergio Ramos	55
Carvalho	55
Arbeloa	52
Marcelo	50
Khedira	48

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This is a fascinating article, because it puts to rest the nonsense spouted by commentators who don't know any better about Mesut's stamina. He ran, in some games, nearly 12 kilometres before being substituted - which for an offensive midfielder is an excessive off-the-ball movement (they usually average 7 or 8).

Hence Ray Hudson's observation during the game away to Racing Santander (when Phil Shoen made a comment about his stamina) - "Accch, nonsense. Every time Ozil's comes off the field his coach gives him a big, wet, floppy kiss, and he deserves it."



He's not only been wowing us with his assists...

The following story highlights the general success of Mesut's first year at Real Madrid and makes very interesting reading, I think. I'm posting it here before it disappears from that site.

Mesut Ozil equals Bodo Illgner's 27 victory record in his first year in the championship

Edu Bueno / Translation by Michael J. O'Donnell

Mesut Ozil was one of the most thrilling players to watch in the 2010/11 edition of La Liga. It has always been said footballers need a period in which to adapt to their new teams, but Ozil put an end to this cliche and equalled Bodo Illgner's 27 victory record in his first year in the Spanish championship.

Mesut participated in 36 of the team's 38 La Liga matches, missing only clashes with Athletic and Valencia on Weeks 31 and 33, respectively. The Whites won 27 of the games Ozil played in, just like they did with former goalkeeper Bodo Illgner in the 1996/97 campaign, the difference being Illgner played 40 games.

Ozil's track record in his first year in La Liga is better than those of Angel di Maria, Seedorf, Ronaldo (when he played for Barcelona) and Pantic, all of whom earned 26 victories in their first years in Spain.

Real Madrid also tops this ranking by cluib, having seven players in the all time top 10 most successful newcomers to the league.

MOST SUCCESSFUL LA LIGA NEWCOMERS
Player	Team	Season	GW	GP
Ozil	Real Madrid	2010/11	27	36
Ilgner	Real Madrid	1996/97	27	40
Di Maria	Real Madrid	2010/11	26	35
Ronaldo	Barcelona	1996/97	26	37
Seedorf	Real Madrid	1996/97	26	38
Pantic	Atletico Madrid	1995/96	26	41
Owen	Real Madrid	2004/05	25	36
Vitor Bahia	Barcelona	1996/97	25	37
Sneijder	Real Madrid	2007/08	24	29
Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	2009/10	24	30

 
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This is certainly a very interesting story. Commentators seem agreed that Madrid plays better with Mesut on the pitch, and Marca had a chart before the first of the 4 Clasicos that showed how often Madrid scored in the league with Mesut off the pitch. The answer was practically never. Unless he'd been removed early to preserve his strength - by which time the team was always, with one exception, ahead, goals didn't come unless Mesut was on the pitch.  Mallorca at home provides an excellent example - when he was substituted in at half-time when the team struggled for ideas against a far weaker side. Within 10 minutes, he had played a part in the run-up of to the only goal of the game.
 
So while you could dismiss this as a brilliant debut season made brilliant by the run of success around him, it is worth remembering that Mesut played the greatest number of league matches, was the outfield player with most appearances over all competitions, topped Europe for assists in the Champions League, and topped Europe for assists across all competitions, breaking Luis Figo's league record while he was at it - and he scored 11 beautiful goals.

Pretty Impressive! We should almost have a "record breaking" tag at this rate - because he'll only improve!

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