LUKAKU IS VERY RIGHT, IT’S A BRUTAL WORLD AFRICAN INTEREST STILL ALIVE . . . The five African teams might have exited the World Cup, but this French team shows that there is still a huge African interest in Russia

Sharuko on Saturday
IT was always going to get messy, in the event Germany flopped in their World Cup defence, given the political baggage that came with Mesut Ozil and İlkay Gundogan’s photo-shoot with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the eve of the tournament, and the controversy of Leroy Sane’s shock omission from the squad.

Ozil and Gundogan are Germans of Turkish descent and their photos with the Turkish President last month in London, where they handed him their replica Arsenal and Manchester City shirts, provoked a fierce storm in Germany.

Gundogan even went to the extent of personally signing his Manchester City jersey with the message, “FOR MY PRESIDENT, WITH GREAT RESPECT.’’

The two German international footballers were born in the German city of Gelsenkirchen to Turkish immigrants and chose to play for their country of birth, where they have lived all their life, instead of representing their country of descent.

There was sharp criticism of the two players across Germany, with even the country’s football boss, Reinhard Grindel, releasing a statement condemning the duo.

“The DFB, of course, respects the special situation for our players with migrant backgrounds, but football and the DFB stands for values that Mr Erdogan does not sufficiently respect,” Grindel said.

“Therefore, it is not a good thing that our internationals have let themselves be exploited for his election campaign stunt. It certainly hasn’t helped the DFB’s integration efforts.”

But the Turkish Football Federation responded by defending the players.

“It was very disturbing for me to read the tweets posted by the German Football Association president in his social media account, which includes detrimental statements about our President Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan,’’ TFF president Yildrim Demiroren said.

“The DFB president’s remarks are unacceptable.

“His meeting with German internationals Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan as well as Turkey international striker Cenk Tosun, who are all Germany-born professional footballers with Turkish descent, is only natural.’’

An unfazed Gundogan, who won the English Premiership title with Manchester City last season, was defiant in his defence of his photo-shoot.

“Should we have been disrespectful to the President of the homeland of our families?” Gundogan said in a statement. “Despite the criticism, out of respect for the office and our Turkish roots, and also as German citizens, we opted for an act of courtesy.”

The relationship between German international footballers, of Turkish or Polish descent, and the fans of the national team, has always been a shaky affair with some supporters questioning whether such players can entirely be trusted to serve their team with everything they have.

And, now and again, when things haven’t gone according to plan, the first players to be targeted in the tsunami of fury by these fans have been these players whose dedication to the cause is a subject that these supporters have always questioned.

When things go well, as was the case when the Germans won the World Cup in Brazil four years ago, the cracks are hidden, temporarily buried under the wave of celebrations and concealed by the power of raging nationalism.

But, when things go otherwise, as was the case at this World Cup in Russia, where the Germans suffered the humiliation of a group stage exist, the cracks come to the fore and, it was not surprising that Ozil was targeted by a group of furious fans as he left the field after the team’s shock elimination at the hands of South Korea.

Of course, Ozil didn’t play to half his potential, was poor throughout the match, but to single him out for criticism, on a day when the entire German team had an off-day and played like amateurs, is an insult to the high levels of professionalism they have set over the years.

EVEN AFTER THE SUCCESS IN BRAZIL, OZIL REMAINED A TARGET FOR CRITICISM

For some people in Germany, for one reason or another, Ozil can never get it right in the colours of their national team and his case isn’t helped, in anyway, by criticism from some of the most influential voices in that country’s football, like Lothar Matthaus, who led his country to success in the World Cup in 1990 as captain.

Matthaus writes a column in the mass-circulating Bild tabloid, the biggest selling newspaper in Germany, and his authoritative voice — whether wrong or right — matters in influencing the views of the average fans.

“What displeases — his body language is negative,’’ Matthaus wrote about Ozil in his column. “He is in the game without joy. I often have the feeling that on the pitch Ozil doesn’t feel comfortable in the DFB (Germany) jersey, is not free — almost as if he does not want to play.

“There is no heart, no joy, no passion. After the latest impression, it is fair for me that he withdraws from the national team after the World Cup. For a year or two, Ozil has played at a level that does not justify the free ticket of Jogi Low.’’

Matthaus isn’t the only one who has been very critical of Ozil.

There was a lot of vicious condemnation of the Arsenal playmaker, even as Germany celebrated another World Cup success story after their triumph in Brazil which, among other stunning results, included a comprehensive 7-1 destruction of the hosts in the semi-finals.

Many of the critics said he didn’t contribute a lot to the cause of the country’s success story across the Atlantic and the team would still have been crowned Champions of the World even if he had not been included in the side that went to Brazil.

The same old song, that he doesn’t play as well for the national team as he does for his club, was sung loud and long by these people — including many who have never taken him into their hearts as a genuine representative of themselves because of his Turkish descent — even though statistics, in today’s world where football has become scientific, proved otherwise.

For all his condemnation, by those who should be his fans, the reality was that Ozil was one of the top players who were nominated by the FIFA technical study group — which analysed the performance of every player at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa — for the Golden Ball award which is given to the best player of the tournament.

That only one other German, Bastian Schweinsteiger, made that top 10 shortlist for the Golden Ball award — with the others being Dutchmen Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, Spaniards Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa, Lionel Messi of Argentina, Asamoah Gyan of Ghana and the eventual winner Diego Forlan of Uruguay — didn’t matter at all to these critics.

That he made the top 10 for the best player award, in a tournament where more than 700 players took part and where he was making his first appearance at the World Cup, at the age of 21, didn’t matter to these critics who showered him with their vicious criticism.

That Ozil ended up tied with Kaka and Schweinsteiger for the most assists during the 2010 World Cup, which was remarkable for a 21-year-old playing in his first World Cup, didn’t matter for this vicious army of critics.

Germany finished third at the 2010 World Cup.

They were there again, stalking him during the 2014 World Cup, and savaging him with criticism, despite Germany winning the tournament, even though he had the most successful passes in the third phase of the field among all the players in Brazil (171).

His teammates Toni Kroos (168), Philip Lahm (132) and Schweinsteiger (119) were second, third and fourth while Lionel Messi was fifth with 111 successful passes.

That Ozil was joint second in chances created providing goal-scoring opportunities for teammates in Brazil with 17, the same number as Thomas Muller, Robben and Shaqiri, and only second to Messi, who provided 23 for his teammates, didn’t matter at all to them.

That he made the top five in corners won in Brazil, which was pivotal in a tournament where dead balls became crucial production lines for goals, with eight corners won, the same number of Jose Holebas, and only behind Neymar (9), Robben (11) and Di Maria (12) didn’t matter to this vicious army of critics.

And that he was second in possession won in the attacking third, doing it six times in Brazil, with only Neymar, who did it 11 times, better than him, while Higuiain (5), Robben (5) and Yaya Toure (5), made the top five, didn’t matter to this vicious army of critics who hounded him with their tsunami of criticism.

I’m not an Ozil fan, for the simple reason that he plays for Arsenal, but to suggest that he is one of the worst footballers to represent a nation at the World Cup, as some of his fierce critics in Germany have been trying to suggest is not fair and should be challenged.

Yes, he could have done better in Russia, he was very, very poor in this World Cup campaign, but he wasn’t the only German who didn’t rise to the occasion, who didn’t play to expectations, who failed this proud football nation, and to use him as a scapegoat — simply because he has Turkish roots or has darker features than his teammates — is an insult to humanity.

Muller was poor, too, by a considerable mile, and has been average for some time now — both for club and country — but somehow he escaped the kind of savage criticism which we have seen being thrown towards Ozil.

Julian Draxler is another man who arrived in Russia amid grand expectations for the Germans, but he didn’t illuminate this World Cup, failed dismally to stamp his authority or weave the magic many expected from him, but somehow, he escapes the vicious insults that have been flying towards Ozil.

MAYBE, LUKAKU IS RIGHT THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT RULES FOR IMMIGRANTS

There are many who still wonder how the German coach ended up leaving out Leroy Sane, voted the best Young Player in the English Premiership, for the campaign in Russia with some even arguing that, when the selection was whittled down between him and Julian Brandt, the colour of their skin played a part in the final decision-making.

That Brandt, who is also an exciting talent, ended up playing just 19 minutes for Germany in Russia, in their doomed World Cup campaign, has provided ammunition to those who claim that, maybe, the Manchester City livewire would have been a better and more reasonable option.

Interestingly, a number of former black international footballers — notably Rio Ferdinand and Sol Campbell — have ganged up in support of Sane by criticising the decision to leave this special talent from the World Cup.

“Can someone tell me why Leroy Sane wasn’t in the German squad, he has scored more goals this season than any other German player?’’ thundered Campbell on Twitter.

And, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

“It’s impossible to say that Germany would have done better at the World Cup with Leroy Sane, but it’s hard to imagine that they would have done any worse,’’ has been trending around the world, especially among some black football pundits.

Sane’s father is a Senegalese immigrant, Souleymane, who arrived in Germany through his service in the French army and the player’s mother is former German gymnast Regina Weber and the Manchester City star has both German and French citizenship.

Maybe, when one considers all this, it’s easy to understand Romelu Lukaku’s candid comments ahead of this World Cup when he said there are a lot of Belgian fans who only want to associate with him, when he is scoring goals for the team, but reject him as a Congolese immigrant, when he experiences a barren run.

Lukaku’s parents, just like those of Vincent Kompany, settled in Belgium after migrating from Congo and the Manchester United forward grew in grinding poverty in the Belgian city of Antwerp that his mother has revealed there were times she felt returning to Kinshasa would be better off for the family.

The big forward is now a multi-millionaire football star, but he revealed that, even though he feels Belgian and plays for Belgium, there are thousands, if not millions, of the team’s fans who only want to associate with him if he doing well for the national team.

And reject him when things aren’t going well.

“If you weren’t with me when I had nothing, then you can’t really understand me,” Lukaku wrote in a touching article for the Players’ Tribune.

“When I went to Chelsea and I wasn’t playing, I heard them laughing at me. When I got loaned out to West Brom, I heard them laughing at me.

“But it’s cool. Those people weren’t with me when we were pouring water in our cereal. When I was 11 years old, I was playing for the Lierse youth team, and one of the parents from the other team literally tried to stop me from going on the pitch.

“He was like, ‘How old is this kid? Where is his ID? Where is he from? I thought ‘what, I was born in Antwerp. I’m from Belgium’.

“I played with so much anger, because of a lot of things. Because the rats running around in our apartment, because I couldn’t watch the Champions League. We didn’t have enough money to make it last the whole week. We were broke. Not just poor, but broke.’’

When he plays well, the striker says even Belgian newspapers call him, “Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker”, but when his form dips “they were calling me Romelu Lukaku, the Belgian striker of Congolese descent”.

The Belgian team is quite an interesting side — Fellaini, Nacer Chadli and Zakaria Bakkali all have Moroccan descent, the father of Moussa Dembele is from Mali and Axel Witsel’s father is from Martinique in the Caribbean.

Fittingly, Lukaku says his biggest regret is a very personal one, and it’s that his late grandfather never got a chance to see him playing professional football and having the financial resources to now take care of his mother and ensure she doesn’t keep living in an apartment full of rats and stalked by hunger.

“I wish I could have one more phone call with him, and I could let him know,’’ he says. “See? I told you. Your daughter is OK. No more rats in the apartment. No more sleeping on the floor. No more stress. We’re good now.’’

Yes, Romelu, we just can’t give up simply because the system is titled against us — the guys who were ferried across the Atlantic as slaves refused to give up and, in time, they gave the world its greatest footballer ever, Pele, who 50 years ago, painted the World Cup in a beautiful black colour in Sweden.

We gave the world its greatest basketballer ever Michael Jordan, its greatest sprinters ever — Jesse Owens, Usain Bolt and Florence-Griffith Joyner — its greatest baseball player ever Babe Ruth, its greatest golfer — when one considers the barriers he had to overcome and the competition he faced — Tiger Woods, its greatest female tennis player, Serena Williams.

We gave the world Deion Sanders, the only person to play in Super Bowl and the World Series for both American football and baseball and the greatest musician, Michael Jackson.

Of course, we gave this world its greatest boxer ever, Muhammad Ali who was unapologetic when he told us:

“I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was. It’s hard to be humble when you’re as great as I am. I am America. I am the part you won’t recognise. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”

We are black, we are African and very proud of that.

To God Be The Glory

Come on Warriors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Khamaldinhoooooooooooooooooo!

Text Feedback — 0772545199, WhatsApp Messenger — 0772545199. Email — [email protected], Skype — sharuko58

Chat with me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter @Chakariboy, interact with me on Viber or read my material in The Southern Times or on www.sportszone.co.zw. The informative ZBC weekly television football magazine programme, Game Plan, where I join the legendary Charles “CNN” Mabika and producer Craig “Master Craig’’ Katsande is currently on a break because of the World Cup.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey