I’ve always been curious how he was at Real Madrid since I never really followed him after his transfer after the 2014 WC.
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He was sacrificed by Rafa Benitez to accommodate Bale in the middle and Isco on the right. Then Zizou comes in and reverts to Kroos-Casemiro-Modric
Not at all really. Luxury player in the era where the luxury player died out really
Not very
More impactful at Everton
Yes obviously because someone of his quality would stand out more playing with Alex Iwobi than Cristiano Ronaldo
he was impactful in that thanks to his signing real madrid didnt win 5 UCLs in a row, as the only season he was in the starting 11 was the one they didnt win because of the unbalanced midfield.
they never shouldve bought him, they shouldve kept di maria.
That’s a pretty confident statement. They could very easily also have one blank in their insane UCL final resume if they managed to get into that final, no matter the players. Barca was capable of taking out anyone that season.
Real lost the UCL semifinal by 1 goal, and with Modric injured… maybe if he were healthy…
this guy didn’t watch or doesn’t remember 2015
James was a midfielder of the year for a reason. Real Madrid ran out of steam in the second half of the season. Modric, Bale, Ramos, etc all missed significant game time and the results slumped. It wasn’t because James was starting that they missed out.
pretty underwhelming
They had so many attacking players that he never got much playing time. Back then with only 3 changes per game,there wasnt much space for him to play. Real Madrid didnt need to buy him imo. He would of been better off playing elsewhere .
Very. They might have missed out on a trophy without him
Statistically he’s the best midfielder in RM’s history. He had more assists and goals in less matches than the likes of Isco and Kroos.
Probably should have kept Ozil in hindsight. I know he wanted to go, but he was a much more impactful player than James
Ozil had amazing skill, but was far too lazy for Madrid to win trophies consistently.
I don’t think Ozil had a reputation for laziness in Spain. Could be wrong, but I only remember that criticism really taking shape at Arsenal
He was more consistent with Madrid and they were a better team than Arsenal. So his play wasn’t as noticeable. I’m not trying to say he wasn’t great, just I feel younger fans watch his videos are overhype him.
That’s true. I also think it points to different teams needing different things from players. Arsenal were supposed to be a high pressing team whereas Real Madrid in that time were very counterattacking. He was expected to run a lot more for Arsenal so it stood out that he was bad at it.
That’s fair. They did counter a lot and he was able to sit and collect the ball, before releasing it or using it himself.
I still think he was a bit lazy with Madrid too. I always felt with a bit more effort he could have been world class and remembered as an all timer. But for me, he just never reached that level enough and that’s why he was great but not world class. (I say world class as top 5. I don’t like using the word for every body.)
He has this body language and languid demeanour that gave him the tag of being “lazy”. Ozil was a baller and a class player.
Football is a team game and one player being “lazy” wouldn’t cost a squad as talented as that Madrid team trophies. He was an integral part of one of the few la liga winning teams Madrid has had since 2010, and went on to win a world cup and 4 fa cups. He was no more lazy than Isco, James or even Zizou himself.
Isco was off and on as a start for most of those wins. Ozil would never have been content with that.
The Madrid team Zidane played in had too many creative players and needed more steel. There’s a reason they didn’t win more.
The fa cup is barely worth a shout when you were part of a team that should have been doing more.
That’s not true they wanted to play 4-3-3 and he didn’t fit in that “‘ lazy “ was created my British media
He coasts through games, and has nothing to do with the British media. The man could be a genius but he was not a big game player at all.
Ozil’s link up with Ronaldo was great to watch for the brief period they were together.
Real Madrid ruined him. If they build the midfield around him, he would of most likely completely dominated the La Liga, but he made way too many sub appearances where they expected him to have goal contributions every game when he was only playing 10mins or so. Ruined his confidence and then when he was going to other clubs, they had a preconception that he wasn’t good so he just followed that path. Seeing a player with the talent of the best players in the world to then become someone of similar talent to the likes of Joe Allen in 2 seasons without an injury is mind blowing
I idolized him so much during the World Cup. Wasted himself in Real Madrid just like Hazard. Such as shame as I thought he suited that club perfectly
The only things that stopped him were injuries and formations that didn’t suit him.
Zero
I think the rumour was that Zizou didn’t like playing with a 10. Kroos-Casemiro-Modric were also just better and more important for the big games.
Individually he performed best in his first season.
Not to forget isco who was in his prime and absolutely balling. He started over bale many important games and was crucial