his childhood team, so there will be a
honeymoon period. But for how long?
There is no beating around the bush.
Within the next six months, Ozil will
either become a cult legend or the
result of Fenerbahce fans going into
complete meltdown. The transfer has
brought with it an air of optimism. At
the midway point of the season, the
team was in second place, just two
points off Besiktas with Galatasaray
breathing down their necks in third –
three points behind. This is seen as the
best chance Fenerbahce have to win
the league in years. Galatasaray and
Besiktas are in a worse financial state
than they are and reigning champions
TURKEYIstanbul Basaksehir are struggling for
forminthebottomhalf.
The ball is in Ozil’s court. He has had
a tumultuous few years, from becoming
Arsenal’s highest-paid player inJanuary
2018 to being ostracised from the
squad in the final few months of his
time at the club. Neither Unai Emery
nor Mikel Arteta managed to get the
best out of him. As well as falling out
with the DFB, his relationship with
the Arsenal board soured after they
distanced themselves from comments
he made in support of Uyghur Muslimsin China. His refusal to take a pay-cut
amidst the coronavirus pandemic only
worsened the relationship.
The situation became irretrievable
after Arteta decided not to register Ozil
for their Premier League and Europa
League squads. Whatever the real
reason for that decision, the playmaker
arrived in Turkey having not played a
competitive game of football since
March. Even when he was playing, he
was not in the best of form, with three
assists and just one goal last season.
His attitude has regularly been
brought into question, often missing
games with a recurring back injury.
His laid-back body language is often
misinterpreted as a sign that he isn’t
interested. He has been accused of
spending more time playing Fortnite
than football.
The Super Lig is a physical league. The
traditional Turkish fan expects players to
show qualities like passion, hard work,
getting stuck in and giving their all for
the badge. This isn’t exactly Ozil. His style
and Fenerbahce’s is not exactly a perfect
match. But as long as he delivers the
goods it won’t cause much of an issue.
Fenerbahce fans expect Ozil to step
up, lead by example and bring back
the glory years. At his best, he would
undoubtedly be the best player in the
league. But he will have a giant target
on his head. Rival teams are going to do
everything to shut him down, to prevent
him playing. Rival fans will pounce on
his every mistake.
And in Turkey there is no escape.
There are several football only
newspapers. Football is discussed for
hours in chat show formats for most of
the week on television. The country is
absolutely crazy about the sport.
For the time being, Ozil will be
shielded from the madness by COVID
restrictions. But if the title race is tight
towards the end of the season the
atmosphere is going to be suffocating.
Pressure can make diamonds but can
also crush rocks to dust. It is make or
break for Fenerbahce.“I am German when we win, an
immigrant when we lose”
Ozil after quitting the German national team in 2018Cast out...Ozil’s last
game for Germany
was the shock 2018
World Cup defeat
to South KoreaGunned out...Ozil
on the Arsenal
bench lastJune