Print Interview With Welt Am Sonntag: "Papa Was Always My Biggest Critic."

[jenny-jenkins.livejournal.com]

Welt Am Sonntag: "Papa was always my biggest critic."

Mesut Özil and his Father in Madrid.

"But I never had to threaten him with cuts to his pocket-money" says Mustafa Özil. Father and Son talk about education, the power of football, and German-Turkish relations.

by Lars Wallrodt.
Welt am Sonntag
Translated by me, jenny_jenkins



After managing early qualification for the European Championships in 2012, the National Team game against Turkey this coming Friday is more a test of playing character than anything else. But not for Mesut Ozil (22). He is playing for the first time with the National Team in the country his parents were born in. In 2007 he made his choice for Germany. It was a decision he discussed intensively with his father Mustafa (44). Welt am Sonntag met the pair in Madrid.



Mesut & Mustafa around the time they were negotiating with Schalke.


WS: "Mesut. On Friday you play in Turkey. A special game for you?"

Mesut Ozil: Naturally, that is plain. It is the land of my forefathers. There will be a great atmosphere and it will be a difficult task to win there. I'm convinced however that we will get the three points.

WS: Are you afraid of being whistled off the pitch?

Mesut Ozil: No. I can handle it. On the pitch I turn it off. In the first leg in Berlin there were plenty of Turks there too and they catcalled. I can understand their disappointment in a way.

WS: Was there ever a time when you would have preferred to play for Turkey?

Mesut Ozil: No, even had the Turkish Federation given everything to get me. It was always plain to me that I wanted to play for Germany. The only difficulty was that I had to wait a long time for an invitation to play in the Junior National Team, while at the same time the Turkish Federation were pressing me. When I was 17 I played for the first time for the U-19. Now I'm happy and proud to be allowed to play for Germany.





WS: Were there discussion within the family about how Mesut should choose?

Mustafa Ozil: No. This decision was left to him, although of course we discussed it. It was a difficult decision, but Mesut was born in Germany, grew up here and developed here. That's why it was the correct thing to decide for the German National Team. This is especially true when one looks at other examples.

WS: What do you mean?

Mustafa Ozil: I hear of many players of Turkish decent, who grew up in Germany just like Mesut, and who chose to represent Turkey and that they are unhappy. They are not accepted by the team and are marginalized. Their mentality is different because they grew up (developed) differently. Yildiray Bastürk or Hamit Altintop are such examples.

WS: Nuri Sahin, who also plays for Madrid and is injured at the moment chose Turkey. Have you discussed it with him?

Mesut Ozil: Yes, and I understand him. He played for the Youth teams for Turkey. I accept his decision and he accepts mine.



Ozil for Germany, Sahin for Turkey.


WS: Mr Ozil. In 2007 you told Schalke during (ultimately failed) contract negotiations that your son would be playing "within three years" at Real Madrid. Was that true foresight or tactics in the negotiation? (This is a true story - Mesut was thoroughly mocked at the time by Schalkers who were in the know!)

Mustafa Ozil: I had an inkling early on that Mesut has exceptional skills in football and could go far. I believed in him but I never put him down or set him up as a new messiah or something like that. The statement you have quoted back to me was made when Schalke made us an unacceptable contract offer and I wanted to underline his class to them. I'm very pleased it's come to pass. But I could just as easily have said "FC Barcelona" or "Manchester United."



WS: Didn't this put you under pressure?

Mesut Ozil: No, I knew myself I had the potential. My goal was always to play at the top club in the world. I've worked hard for that. So far, everything has gone well for me. I've never been seriously injured, I've always been able summon up my best performance. Now I play at the biggest club in the world. What more could I ask for?

WS: At what point did Madrid become a realistic goal for you?

Mesut Ozil: Well first it was my development which gave me confidence. In the youth teams I was always the best. When I was 17 I played in the Bundesliga and then in the Champions League (against Mourinho's Chelsea!) with Schalke - and again with Bremen. It was clear to me I could hold my own with the best. I was also aware of it at the World Cup in 2010. Everything seemed to fit.

Mustafa Ozil: I consider above all that Mesut's potential has not yet been fully exploited. Consider FC Barcelona. There are ten men who work to one purpose: for their playmaker Lionel Messi. Mesut at Real Madrid is a number ten, but the others do not work with him as their focus. Mesut runs between 12 and 14 kilometres a game, collects balls from deep and then distributes them forward. That costs a lot of energy. I think when he continues to improve he could become a focal point for his team.

WS: Is that your goal?

Mesut Ozil: My goal is first of all, to have an undisputed starting place. Then I'll be on the right path.

Mustafa Ozil: Boy, you're too modest. You play regularly.

Mesut Ozil: Well, that's true. I think that if things continue as they have then I'll be an automatic choice. I simply feel joy standing with the others on the pitch. With world-stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema or Kaka. To this point it has worked out. I have to be more clinical in front of goal however.



All he wants for Christmas is a starting place!


WS: Where does this modesty come from?

Mustafa Ozil: We brought up our children to be that way - but one has to be the type for it too. Mesut is very modest and very reserved and I think that's good. He is a very good person.

WS: Were you always there when Mesut played in the Youth teams?

Mustafa Ozil: Yes, whenever I could. That was a wonderful time. It was almost more beautiful than it is now because it was pure fun - nothing professional. I was always anxious during games (ich habe immer mitgezittert). Recently someone from Rot-Weiss-Essen spoke with me - where Mesut played for five years, and thanked me. Through his switch to Real Madrid they received a small commission which helped them build a new stadium. I thought that was nice.

WS: Is football the same for you as it always has been?

Mesut Ozil: At bottom, yes. Of course it makes a difference when one plays in front of 100 people or 85,000 (laughs). But I have my dream profession and I enjoy every minute on the pitch.

WS: Were you aware of your father being on the sidelines?

Mesut Ozil: Mostly after the game. He was always my biggest critic.

Mustafa Ozil: That's true. Always in moderation however. I never threatened him with cuts to his pocket-money or something like that. I only wanted him to be better.






WS: Did you take your father's criticisms well or did you rebel?

Mesut Ozil: I dealt positively with it. He was usually right and it inspired me to be better in the next game.

Mustafa Ozil: You didn't always listen to me though - don't you remember? You once kicked around for five hours before a game with your friends. I told you "Mesut, that's enough. You have an important game tomorrow - but you went on playing."

Mesut Ozil: It's true. The day after I was completely exhausted and didn't play well.

Mustafa Ozil: I went to your coach and told him "Please take Mesut out. He's dead on his feet." And at half-time he did.

WS: If you were always the best player were you ever attacked for it?

Mesut Ozil: You mean, racism?

WS: For example?

Mesut Ozil: No, never. I always played in teams that were multi-cultural. There were Lebanese, Poles, Turks and Germans. We were like a family, and we all helped each other.

Mustafa Ozil: The parents on the sidelines were far worse. But they were best ignored.

WS: The integrative power of football is being celebrated at the moment. You yourself received a Bambi award for your efforts in that direction. Have you felt that way?

Mesut Ozil: I grew up in Gelsenkirchen, the Bismarck district, where many people live with an immigrant background. I automatically found more friends that way, and we didn't solve our problems by fighting but by playing on the football field. In this respect I must say, in retrospect, that I benefitted hugely from football. But naturally one only realizes it later.

Mustafa Ozil: Football brought the young people together. See now: In Germany there are now over 10 million people with an immigrant background. The country is multicultural whether one likes it or not. I find that we can be proud of how peacefully we all live together and what we've achieved in this country. We've learned to respect one another.



Gelungene Integration!


WS: What role does Mesut play in all this? He is the first real star with Turkish roots who is playing for the National Team.

Mustafa Ozil: I think, an important role. In the truest sense, Turks and Germans have not always understood each other. My father came in 1961 as a guest-worker to Germany, as a miner. He had only a suitcase and no knowledge of the language. He didn't know anyone. There were no Turkish grocery stores, no restaurants. He was welcomed with open arms, but it was difficult.

WS: What was it like for you?

Mustafa Ozil: I was brought to Germany in 1967 when I was two years old and had previously lived with my grandparents in Turkey. That wasn't easy either. In this sense, the third generation has it pretty good. And if Mesut helps bring understanding between Germans and Turks through his performance then that's beautiful. There is only one thing that bothers me...

WS: And what is that?

Mustafa Ozil: We talk all the time of inclusion, of the integration of immigrants into German society. I think his background as a Turkish-born player is over-emphasized. Much more so than, say, players with Polish roots like Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose.

WS: Does this bother you?

Mesut Ozil: Not really. Nationalities on the pitch don't count he way they do in real life. On the field it doesn't matter if I'm German or Turkish. What counts is my performance, not my passport.

WS: A final question as an insider: is Germany's nemesis, Spain, beatable?

Mesut Ozil: Yes, I think so. The Spanish have a strong team but we are getting closer because we have developed. Our goal is to win titles now. It would be best if it were the European Championships next year.

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