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Mesut Özil: 2019/20 Performances

Why Isn't Özil Playing?


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Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Agree... I have played football at some level, and this is the first thing a good manager wants from you. Play it simple, don’t complicate with useless tricks.

Having the ability to lose your opponent with the first touch is something every manager wants in a player. Because you gain a time to play it quickly... pass it quickly. The ball runs faster than any player. Dribbling and tricks works in the last third. But we know how useless is a show pony.

Only smart persons and those who played this game at some level can understand how difficult is to play the game simply, easy and effective.
Only in England
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7137071.stm

In country like Spain and Brazil, you are encouraged to showcase your skills on the pitch up until 10-13, then you start learning some team/tactics play. After 13 they do less of it, but it doesn’t mean they abandoned it, they use a combination of both skills and off the ball movement to play. All the players by 13 are already great on the ball, because they have already developed that skill set at a young age.

If you look at Barcelona, Bayern, Man City, Spain, Brazil...All their attacking players (and some defenders) are both world class ON AND OFF the ball. We only have players who are half as good.
 
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Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Did you watched him at Real Madrid for example? He is everything you want from a number 10.
Because he had 5/6 world class attacking players around him who are both great at BOTH ON and OFF the ball, enough to create the two conditions he needed. So he was able to showcase his passing talent.

But when his teammates are changed, his lack of skills on the ball makes him not able to create these conditions for himself and for his teammates. That’s why I said he is half the player of iniesta or modric, because they are great at both.

In passing, the two conditions you need on the pitch are passing options and a small pocket of space for the receiver to receive the ball. A great passer like Özil can do nothing if the opponent shuts down both conditions. Mark him tight to limit his passing options, and closes all the gaps with disciplined defence to cut potential receiver’s space.

That is why people believe Özil is “inconsistent”. I don’t believe a great passer like him will be a great passer in one game and suddenly lost his attributes in another game. So I don’t think he is inconsistent. His limited ability help him to play well in some matches but not in some matches when the conditions he needed are not fulfilled. What really happened is, defending against Özil is easy, just eliminate the two conditions and when the opponent team is doing it right, Özil will have a bad game.

If you dribble past a player, you suddenly open up lots of spaces and lots of passing options. You also disrupted their marking. Should the opponents’ defence stay with a potential receiver of the ball? Or charge out to mark you instead? By this you create those small gaps to pass into.

Özil needs certain conditions to exist for him to showcase his passing quality. Other world class attacking midfielders create those conditions for themselves and for their teammates.

This is Özil left with no passing options. He can do nothing even he is such a talented passer. (Please ignore the other players’ name on here)
38-BA1-C01-36-A0-4-F59-B179-F6-CF21-FB3-B8-B.jpg


If Özil can dribble past his marker, there will be a lot more passing options available. Number 4 will have a headache on who he should mark.
3452-D44-B-9071-4-F4-F-A8-CA-1-BEA83-F9-EF69.jpg
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
I'm sorry but it really was. First of all, while Özil doesn't have the dribbling skills and close ball control of a Cazorla, he is a decent dribbler in his own right. Second, if you can have everything in a footballer then you pretty much get Messi and sure, Özil is not Messi, but how many Messi's are out there running about in the world?

Third, sure dribbling is one way to open up tight marking but it is not the only way and from a team perspective not the best way as it involves an element of risk of a turnover inviting a counter. The best way to get past tight marking is off-the-ball movement by the whole team where you play quick one-twos and create triangles. The problem for Özil is that in far too many games we are too static with the ball making it easy for the opponents to mark us.

Another way to beat compact teams is to win the ball high up the pitch which is something Arteta is trying to implement because if you can do that then there are bound to be defending players out of position.
Since when you see Özil intentionally run into a player and take him on with dribbling skills in the final third? Silva, KDB, Iniesta......they can do it easily, so they can still open up a defence when passing options are unavailable.

Özil is not a decent dribbler, what he does at most is to shake a defender off in the midfield area with a good first touch when being challenged. He does it passively rather than wanting to attack or break down a defence to actively perform a dribble. As I’ve said, we need players who are good at both on and off the ball. Özil, Auba, and Laca are not the players we want.

It’s time to sign Ziyech to replace Özil, a Hleb/Nasri type of player on the left. And a Van Persie/Sanchez type of player as our striker.

With Arteta, who has a similar philosophy to Guardiola. My dream would come true very soon (I’ve been waiting for more than 10 years for this). Sooner or later these walcott type of unskillful sh*** will f**k out from our club. Imagine if we have a team of Van Persie, Sanchez, Hleb, Nasri, Cazorla........we would be at least as good as City. Can’t wait to see you people coming back in a few years time saying sorry to me admitting that I was actually right. By the way, thanks @Big Poppa for not being bias.
You’re right.

Dribbling is not the only way to open up a defence, but it certainly is a very efficient way. Movement off the ball is another one.

The best teams combine both ways to unlock any defence at anytime. We can only rely on just one way, which is very limited, and ineffective.

In the old days when more teams play man marking, movement off the ball is a very useful way to disrupt a defence. Because your marker will follow your movement. So you have “control” on your opponent’s defence position. See how Blue 5 have all the space to exploit because of other player’s movement to drag their opponent out of position.
52-B817-CF-2-CE4-49-B8-864-E-9-D96-B023-A386.jpg


But football doesn’t play like this anymore. Many teams including very attacking teams. When they are defending, they sit deep and defend in a zonal manner. Movement alone can’t break the defence easily anymore.
A4-B343-BD-A92-D-45-D0-9-F21-EB3-C9-EFCB52-A.jpg

Again, both ways are important, and top teams are able to unlock opponent defence using a combination of both. Look at City, Bayern and Barcelona, most of their players including defensive players are all very skillful on the ball.

Your argument is that Özil and our team can use their off the ball movement to break down a defence. And they are not required to be good on the ball, or do not need any dribbling skills. Because off the ball movement can unlock a defence.

My argument does not prefer skills over off the ball movement. We need BOTH. I did emphasise on skills but it’s because we are so lack of it in our squad. We lost all the players who are good on and off the ball.
World class attacking midfielders are good at both, iniesta, modric, Kaka, Isco......or even cazorla, erikson......Özil is just half a player, sometimes he might be able to shake a player off when being challenged, but he doesn’t have the skills to intentionally take on a player to dribble past him.
 
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yorch44

Commander of the Pelotudo Brigade
Only in England
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7137071.stm

In country like Spain and Brazil, you are encouraged to showcase your skills on the pitch up until 10-13, then you start learning some team/tactics play. After 13 they do less of it, but it doesn’t mean they abandoned it, they use a combination of both skills and off the ball movement to play. All the players by 13 are already great on the ball, because they have already developed that skill set at a young age.

If you look at Barcelona, Bayern, Man City, Spain, Brazil...All their attacking players (and some defenders) are both world class ON AND OFF the ball. We only have players who are half as good.
Man I am from México, here every guy wants to be the typical show pony. And not, not only in England, watch Germany and the beauty in the simplicity of playing. Like Cruyff said, hardest football is the simple and easy football.
 

yorch44

Commander of the Pelotudo Brigade
Too many pc managers in here for my liking
I actually played football at semi pro level. I still play at my 30 years but more amateur or casual level. I just talk about what managers said to me or what I have read or watch from professional managers. I play CM so that’s why I talk about simply and easy football. I don’t feel I am saying lies. Just my opinion.
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Man I am from México, here every guy wants to be the typical show pony. And not, not only in England, watch Germany and the beauty in the simplicity of playing. Like Cruyff said, hardest football is the simple and easy football.
Please have some respect and stop insulting good players. “Show pony”? What a disgusting phrase. Do you hate players like Ronaldinho ie the best footballer ever exists in this universe?

You must have not read this that I’ve posted:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/7137071.stm

Words like this really disgustingly damaged the development of a good football culture in England.
 
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SingmeasongSong

Right Sometimes
Özil in his prime could certainly dribble.

Exactly, Özil was a ****ing complete midfielder from top to bottom except from not being even two-footed like Cazorla.
Remember his Werder Bremen days especially - boy was he fast back then.

Probably was better at dribbling and running past players than all of our squad right now.
 

fc honka

Active Member
Both were boring teams tbh.
Germany 2014 was far from boring.
- 7-1
-Neuer
-Portugal game
-Ghana game
-Algeria game
-scored a lot of goals
-played really fast in the attacking third

They might have had their flaws in defending but watching them was great. If even most of British pundits agreed on that, it must be true :).
 

Football Manager

Copy & Paste Merchant
Germany 2014 was far from boring.
- 7-1
-Neuer
-Portugal game
-Ghana game
-Algeria game
-scored a lot of goals
-played really fast in the attacking third

They might have had their flaws in defending but watching them was great. If even most of British pundits agreed on that, it must be true :).
It’s not about the number of goals you scored. It’s about your football philosophy and how your approach is.
Spain played the most attractive football.
Their opponents were parking the bus, making Spain harder to break down their defence, so they are harder to score. That doesn’t mean they play unattractive football.

Just look at how they create space in the midfield, their clever movement on and of the ball, the control of tempo in the midfield, the amazing level of teamwork, the beautiful one two/one touch through passes that cut through the lines, individual dribbling skills and world class ball control, the beauty and complexity of their tactics to work the ball into the box, how they create overload in certain areas to outnumber their opponent, how they use passes to humiliate their opponent.......The most satisfying thing to see in football is a killer through pass, that beautifully cut through the defence, it’s just f**king beautiful!!!
If 2002 Brazil was lost to an opponent team by 1-0, it will still be an entertaining match.
If 2002 England was won by 10-0, it can still be a boring match.
I find possession teamwork football most entertaining. Netherland and Brazil with individual skills and flair were very entertaining teams too. It’s entertaining, and it’s like watching art, even if they lost or didn’t score.

England played ugly defensive tactics, no individual skills or flair, no teamwork, play disgusting long ball, unable to score from open play and rely on set pieces.... even if they scored 10 goals in a match. It’d still be a boring disgusting match.
 
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fc honka

Active Member
That Spain team played it's best during the game 2012 Euro final when they had less than 50% possession but still destroyed Italy.
Its not about possession, but how versatile the teams attack is. 2014 the winner was very versatile in the offence and that is what made them nice to watch. Also they played a very high line which also added to the entertainment because it was risky. Most football fans agree to that.

Brazil had great teams 1970 and 1986 and they were beautiful to watch imho. 2002 they had Ronaldo and a filming Rivaldo.

Today disappointing game from Özil. He did not offer himself enough and was not at all on the ball.
 
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