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crinkly_ears2012-06-10 01:37 pm
The Portugal Match Spam, Press Reviews, Video Interview & Zinedine Zidane
Germany 1 - 0 Portugal - Match Pictures
('72 Gomez)
I haven't time to write up this game properly. Ozil made 5 scoring chances, but it was a poor performance over-all from Germany, lacking in fluidity or speed. Because Germany would normally expect to meet an opponent like Portugal in a quarter or semi-final it was also a cagey game with a knock-out feel about it. Most of Germany's lack of speed came from the simple desire not to lose the ball. Passes were lacking in ambition going forward and the defence spent much of the evening monopolizing possession and passing among themselves.
There was also Portugal's seeming desire to draw the match, based on Holland's poor result against Denmark earlier in the evening, though that impression might have come from their inability to get the ball off Germany for most of the evening. Unusually for a Germany match, the defence and keeper Manuel Neuer have picked up most of the man-of-the-match accolades, with one exception which you will see below.
Mesut's slightly better-dressed older-brother Mutlu
Game Highlights - Mesut's Touches On The Ball
(Usual music warnings apply)
Mesut's Pre-Match Feature Interview
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Mesut & Zinedine Zidane
Mesut was asked by Welt am Sonntag to name his role-model of hero. He chose Zidane.
In the blurb, Mesut came in for some teasing, the newspaper noting that a large number of different people in different professions were chosen by various of the German team and that "it doesn't only have to be about football, as it is for Mesut Ozil..."
I haven't time to translate it, but here's the write-up -
Als Mesut Özil klein war, damals, in Gelsenkirchen-Buer, traf er sich jeden Tag mit seinen Freunden zum Kicken auf einem Schlackeplatz, den sie den "Affenkäfig" nannten, weil er von einem Zaun umgeben war. Sie gaben sich die Namen von berühmten Fußballspielern, Vorbildern eben. Und er war immer Zinédine Zidane. Wie der den Ball beherrschte, mit welcher Leichtigkeit der spielte, was er technisch draufhatte - das begeisterte den Nachwuchsfußballer. Da guckte er sich einiges ab. Inzwischen ist Özil Spielmacher bei Real Madrid und Zinédine Zidane der Sportdirektor des Vereins, also in gewisser Weise sein Boss. Sie sehen sich immer mal wieder, und Özil bekommt immer mal wieder Tipps von dem Älteren. Zwar kann er ihm nach seinen Erfolgen durchaus auf Augenhöhe begegnen - aber eine Menge Respekt ist immer noch dabei. Wie das so ist mit den Helden der Kindheit, die Vorbilder bleiben.
Press Reviews
These were wildly mixed. Some were flattering, others were derisory.
Özil’s engine earns Man of the Match accolade
Mesut Özil’s excellent performance earned him the Carlsberg Man of the Match award as Germany edged past Portugal to claim maximum points in their Group B opener.
The Real Madrid CF midfielder produced an industrious display coupled with his usual compsure on the ball and received high praise from former Denmark midfielder Allan Simonsen, who handed over the award in the post-match ceremony. “He’s technically perfect, works hard and always looks for the right pass for his team-mates,” said Simonsen. “He played very, very well.”
However, although delighted at the recognition, a modest Özil was keen to stress the importance of the team performance over individual accolades. “I have won something like this for the first time and am very happy about it,” he said. “The main thing is the team played well and we deserved to win. As a team, we really gave everything and are very happy about it.”
A tight affair was settled by Mario Gomez’s 72nd-minute header and the 23-year-old said there was room for improvement after Germany’s UEFA EURO 2012 curtain-raiser. “I didn’t play my best, I know I can play much better,” said Özil, who covered 10,371 metres in his 87 minutes on the pitch. “I am happy about the award but the main thing is that we won the first game. We’re concentrating on the next match now and we hope we’ll be as successful as today.
“The main thing in the first game is that you play well and limit the mistakes. Portugal played very well, they’re a strong team with a lot of quality, and they made life difficult for us. We’re very satisfied to win 1-0 but we know we can get better in the coming games. The main thing is the three points.”
Augsburger Allgemeine
Mesut Özil: Kaum Ideen, kein Glanz. Eines der schwächeren Länderspiele des Madrilenen.
No ideas, no brilliance. One of the weaker national team games of the Madrid player.
From WeltOnline, the following observation on why Mesut spent his evening playing on the flanks -
Miguel nahm Özil fast in Manndeckung
Interessant war auch zu erkennen, dass Portugal den "Playmaker" Mesut Özil dem "Troublemaker" Miguel fast in einer Art Manndeckung entgegensetzte. Die Portugiesen haben Real Madrids Spielmacher nicht in Raumdeckung genommen, das heißt, es kam nicht immer ein neuer Spieler, der Özil in verschiedenen Räumen übernommen hat, sondern er hat einen direkten Gegenspieler bekommen. Deswegen wich Özil häufig auf die Flügel aus.
This community is esentially on hiatus as far as I am personally concerned. I will not be looking for pictures myself and will have less time than usual to translate etc... until my mother is better, unless I happen to have time or she has a few better days. If anyone wants to help with posts then just go ahead and post or send me the pictures and I will post them for you. At least 50% of the comm's readership (the comm's stats suggest nearer 70%) does not belong to LiveJournal, so if you choose to post, please leave posts unlocked so those readers can continue to read.
Members owe this post to
![[info]](https://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.5){kind=small}
suzanne410* and to Luisa - another of the community's readers from Spain, who responded to my request for help in the last post. Thank you both!
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Should have known he'd be shirtless. Did he swap wth Cris?
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I'm in the process of trying to find out that very question! You'll hear from me again, I hope.
<3
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It was a cagey, frightened, cautious performance from both teams. Both knew the Dutch had been defeated. Portugal would have been happy with a draw, I think (hard to tell - they looked like they were playing for one, but perhaps they couldn't get the ball away from Germany's superior midfield - because haphazard as it was, it was still superior).
Germany immediately defended their lead - the way you do in a knock-out game. The teams were not behaving, in other words, like teams in a group stage.
The end of the game left the greatest impression on those who chose Neuer or Hummels as man-of-the-match. I think a fair assessment of the whole match is that it was Mesut. He had by far the most touches, ran the furthest, and made the best final passes.
I thought Sami was outstanding too.
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Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing some Mesut magic :).
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Nah - he and Mesut are very good friends. When Mesut arrived in Madrid, rather wide-eyed and quiet, Pepe cheerfully informed the press: "Ozil is a little shy, but not to worry! Marcelo and I are looking after him! We have fun all day long!"
There's even video of the three little goofs (Mesut appears one minute in for about a full minute):
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Mesut apparently really likes to do that thing where he reaches around someone to pinch or poke another player. That bottle joke was new to me, though.
Everything you need to know about Pepe...
http://unamadridista.wordpress.com/2011/09/16/pepe-the-real-interview/
It's the way his own fans experience him. Defenders or defensive players are the least lovable people on any team (Busquets or Alves, anyone?) But their own fans experience them differently. Football is like religion: fans choose a team almost randomly (or are born into it, as most people are with religions they are then CONVINCED must be right - which is a little narcissistic if you think about it), become wildly superstitious, see qualities or virtues in their Gods (the player) that no one else can, condemn behaviours in the Gods of others that they find charming or excusable in their own.
Also, this interview highlights a difference between many players at Madrid and many of those at Barca, which is something I've thought about a great deal.
The boys on your team are mainly academy products. Which means they don't know how to dress (wtf was that purple velvet jacket Leo?? It was so awful it was CUTE. Which is pretty awful.) because they didn't have their mothers beating sense into them. Conversely, they were never hungry.
Quite a few of Madrid's players (in particular Di Maria, Marcelo & Pepe) had lives that were rather different as children.
If you are interested in another member of the Argentine National Team, here is di Maria's interview - which was as affecting as Pepe's, and as outstanding:
http://unamadridista.wordpress.com/2011/10/29/angel-di-maria-the-real-interview/
And parts of Marcelo's interview made me cry. Tears suddenly stole up on me when he relates the happy day there was enough money to eat hamburgers and drink coca cola - and how he and his grandfather accidentally came into the money!
http://unamadridista.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/marcelo-the-real-interview/
Apropos defenders: my favourite of Barca's players happens to be Carles Puyol. If you have a kick-ass interview with him I'd love to read it. And if you have one with Alves, I would read it with an open mind!
At any rate: read Pepe's at least and tell me what you think.
<3<3<3<3
Incidentally, in case you were wondering, lots of cules are community members! (I would join a Puyol comm if it existed!)
Re: Everything you need to know about Pepe...
Anyway, I read all three interviews; they do offer glimpses into these players that I hadn't gotten before. I'm sure from Pepe's perspective that he's doing what he thinks he ought to do on the pitch in order to help his team win... so I blame his coaches for encouraging/supporting tactics of which I disapprove ;).
Marcelo is someone I like a lot even though he plays for a rival team. I got to see him play for Brazil in NJ a couple of days ago, and he was fantastic, awesome ball control, and he just seems like a very happy, fun-loving, great guy all around.
You know, we're very proud that most of our players are local boys and academy products rather than being poached from other places! And Leo is a funny example to cite because, while his purple jacket was truly ridiculous (we called it the Willy Wonka look), his background is actually much more similar to those of the RM players in these interviews than of many of his academy companions. I don't want to blather on - I'm sure you know that he's from a working class Argentina family, that his father moved to Barcelona with him because he had the opportunity to train in La Masia and get the growth hormone treatments they couldn't afford, and that he's extremely close with his family. Carles Puyol, whom I adore, is also from a working class background - he lost his father to a machinery accident several years ago. I don't know that either of them ever went hungry, but they're humble people.
Anyway, thanks for the links to these interviews, and if I happen upon any good ones from Puyi or Dani I will be sure to share them!
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I would help, but I'm still abroad. And knitting away!
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:P
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MWAH
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The first two matches of the group B are so intense. I have to say that Manuel was as amazing as usual! But the maneuver wasn't as crazy, frankly speaking. And poor Miro for not playing long enough. But maybe they'll be more fired up on the next matches. I highly hope so!
Oh my, Jenny, I hope your mom will get better soon. I'll try to make an at least decent enough post when I have the time (gotta' take care of mom too hehe).
nice topic
www.mesutozil.com
It's growing up.
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^
It doesn't but i can't see him choosing anybody else other than a footballer. You can tell he's so in love with what he does. Never change Bambi~
& he looks absolutely adorable in all these pics!