Arsene Wenger lays into Mezut Ozil over Germany’s woeful World Cup campaign https://metro.co.uk/2018/07/09/arse...l-germanys-woeful-world-cup-campaign-7696257/ Firstly i don't know why the Metro had to say "lay into", when Wenger was far from it, if anything he was being supportive and understanding. Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has criticised Mesut Ozil’s performances during the World Cup and says the Germany star ‘played with the handbrake on’. Ozil struggled to affect all three of Die Mannschaft’s World Cup matches as they surprisingly exited the competition at the group stage, while he was criticised for meeting Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to the tournament. Wenger feels that controversy affected Ozil’s performances in Russia and was disappointed with how little he was able to show his playmaking talents. Speaking to BeIN Sports, Wenger explained: ‘I know Ozil well, he is a fantastic, exceptional footballer but him and [Ilkay] Gundogan suffered from what happened before the World Cup. ‘They have been vilified in Germany. Ozil is a guy who needs support, he doesn’t need controversy. ‘When I watched him play, I could feel that there were situations in the game where he could have moved forward, progressed more vertically. But he played safely. ‘I always was thinking come on, that’s not the real Ozil I know, the guy who can kill. ‘He did play alright, but I think he didn’t play with the complete freedom, he played a little bit with the handbrake on at this World Cup.’ After the World Cup, Germany team manager Olivier Bierhoff claimed Ozil’s decision to meet with Erdogan and not address the issue afterwards affected the squad and even claimed he regretted calling up the Arsenal man to the World Cup squad. It's been shameful that the German media and public have tried scapegoating Ozil and Gundogan because of a woeful World Cup. So a visit to Erdogan can affect an entire team to play ****e? What utter bollocks. Right-wing Nationalism is sweeping across Europe with major gains in Germany from racist right-wing anti-immigration political groups holding sway, Austria voting in a right-wing anti-immigration government and the list goes on. So there is no surprise that there is an uproar when two Germans of Turkish origin meet the President of Turkey. Why ****ing can't they? Nationalism is a horrible blight to human beings, it is one of the main things that will stop us from making progress going forward. Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind. Albert Einstein
I think politics and football shouldn't mix although it often does. It's one of the few things that unites us in many respects, sport. Or it should.
Sport is great but it's always used politically, if you look through history from the Roman Empire all the way to the modern era with May at the latest EU conference exchanging football shirts with another politician.
