crinkly_ears | A Little Crispy Ronaldo, A Whole Lot of Mesutosity: Clasico News & Notes

There's been a lot of press about Mesut over the past few weeks. His performance in Valencia received high praise from everyone - from Marca, As, the international press etc... His performance against Getafe also got some attention from Cuatro's cameras.

The Ozil & Ronaldo Society!

The beautiful connection apparent between the two of them is the focus of the video. Together they've scored or created a huge number of goals in the last two league matches - Mesut had a hand in all 5 in Valencia, Ronaldo assisted one directly and scored two of them. And against Getafe, Ronaldo had a hat-trick while Ozil was involved in creating 3 of the goals - the first, second and third of the match (off his corner, off his final pass, and through a break that he orchestrated with Angel di Maria).

We also some lovely gifs - thanks to our dearest

andriy_7 because of course, Cristiano and Mesut celebrated the last goal so beautifully. Cuatro has the reverse angle:

Are you Croezil enthusiasts sitting down? Because yes - Cristiano kissed his neck, as you can see in the reverse angle! Crispy is always affectionate and sweet with his teammates, of course - but I do believe that from this community's viewpoint, this moment takes the cake!

And of course - a sweetly paternal moment with Papa Jose and Uncle Rui -

Mesut has said repeatedly he thinks of Jose Mourinho as a father figure. Looks like the boy done good in this match!

Mesut to BWIN

Mesut has been interviewed by BWIN - the transcript is provided by AS -

Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Özil spoke to BWIN.com and reflected on his time at the Bernabéu as he draws near to playing his 100th game for 'Los Blancos'.

The German international also spoke about Madrid's upcoming Copa del Rey semi-final with Barcelona and the importance of Cristiano Ronaldo to the team.

Close to his 100th game: "I'm very grateful to be able to play for such a great club. My debut was a very special day but nothing compares to winning trophies, like the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona, the Supercopa or the league title, those remain in your memory forever."

His thoughts on El Clásico: "Our aim is to show our potential out on the pitch and win both matches. We are in the semi-finals and playing against Barcelona, so we have to give our all and try and win.

"We know that Barcelona are a very potent team with great players but we have to focus on ourselves. We are on a good run and we are also playing at home. Our aim is to win the game, make our fans proud and try to qualify for the final."

"This is the best derby in the world and it's always a special occasion for us because we want to prove ourselves against the very best. Of course you always want to win games like these, especially for the fans, who support us throughout the year. We want to pay them back with a win over Barcelona."

The importance of Cristiano to Madrid: "We are all aware of his potential. He is one of the best players in the world and he has shown time and time again how important he is to the team but first and foremost, we are a team, and we don't revolve around Cristiano or any other player. We know his strong points and we need him but we have to work as a team if we are to be successful."

People have referred to Özil as a different player from the rest: "I'm happy that people think of me like that, my aim is always to show my potential on the pitch. I love playing football and I enjoy myself when I'm out on the pitch. I'm very proud that people say that about me, of course."

General Press Reviews

Marca also wrote up Mesut this week in very affectionate terms and in two separate articles. I feel that it helps explain BWIN's final comment on Mesut as perceived as "different"...

Even Mourinho bows to Özil

Fro MARCA

Mesut Özil once again united opinion at the Bernabéu with a fine display. The German player left his mark on an outstanding match, and earned the unanimous plaudits of everyone. Starting on the terraces, who gave him a standing ovation when he left the field in the 69th minute, and ending with Mourinho himself on the bench, holding out his hand, and with a bow, congratulating him on his performance.

These days Özil is, along with Cristiano Ronaldo, the great hero of the fans. Ronaldo receives tributes because of his appeal and his self-sacrifice, whereas Özil is admired for his elegance. Özil’s football has the Bernabéu enthralled, they clap him even when his moves don’t turn out as planned.

Özil almost scored in the first half of the game against Getafe, in a move which started with a through ball to Borja, and beating three men to split the Getafe defence. The Bernabéu was sorry he did not shoot earlier, but they still stood up to applaud, while Özil, lying on the ground, raised his hand in acknowledgement of the crowd...

Marca had also written up Mesut last week (a tribute to his "exquisite touch" following his direction from midfield of the destruction of Valencia):

Özil Adds a Stylish Touch

From MARCA

Mesut and his perilous sense of balance, at the Mestalla.

Özil is Real Madrid's most refined player. In a team packed with juggernauts like Cristiano Ronaldo, Di María, Higuaín and Khedira, Mesut Özil's exquisite touch exerts the same destructive effect.

Özil does not play an aggressive game. He undoes his opponent with the subtlety characteristic of the most talented and imaginative players. He did it again on Sunday. In a frenetic first half for Real Madrid, packed with fast attacking football, the man with his hand on the switch was this fantastic German footballer. His brightest moment came on 41 minutes, when he played in Cristiano Ronaldo with a backheel for the Portuguese striker to beat Diego Alves and make it 4-0 to Real.

Özil made his mark again, with that backheel which takes apart defences and leaves his team's finishers rubbing their hands. And they never fail. We have seen it on plenty of occasions. On Sunday it was Cristiano Ronaldo, but Benzema has also benefitted from this lovely piece of skill by the German. That was two years ago in the Champions League clash against Ajax. It was later named the best goal of the tournament.

Mesut Özil plays with real style in a team where the philosophy is to take the most direct route towards goal. When he gets the ball, you know something different is going to happen. His strength is not his power, but the precision of his passing. Özil was involved in every one of his team's five goals.

And finally - a little piece that once again highlights the scoring and creating relationship between the two players ahead of the clasico...It's about Ronaldo - but it mentions our crinkly-eared modern-day hero in a rather touching anecdote:

At Cristiano Ronaldo's Service

(Excerpted from MARCA)

The squad is openly talking about the need to play for Cristiano, making him into the team's standard-bearer. They know that, the more support they give him, the better things will go for all. This current climate can be explained to some extent by what happened during the Getafe game.

Özil, the player with the best vision around the goal, obsessively looked for spaces for the Portuguese player to take advantage of during the game against Getafe, to the degree that, in the first half, he was involved in an incident whereby he lost sight of the ball due to looking for the pass more than scoring.

In the second half, he managed to make the connection. It was Cristiano Ronaldo's first goal, the team's second, and it proved his course of action to be the correct one.

For the Portuguese player's second goal against Getafe, Di María could also be seen lining the ball up at the far post in anticipation of Cristiano.

Cristiano Ronaldo's teammates made an array of comments to him after the game; that of Özil was: "You're a machine".

It could potentially be an ugly match tomorrow from Madrid's perspective - difficult and physically trying. Madrid have no left-back, no right-winger and none of its first-choice defence. I wouldn't say that any part of the team is particularly in form either (Mesut's loyal comment aside). Our goal keeper had his wrist broken and either a keeper newly arrived to the team or the infant, Adan, will be starting between the sticks. But let's hope for the best and that Mesut and Ronaldo play as beautifully together as they have been!

Mesut will miss his next Liga match (five yellow cards) - so I hope his fans enjoy this one!
.