Mesut Ozil Should Quit German National Team – His Father Says

Will Ozil retire from the German national team?

Ozil has been blamed for much of Germany’s abysmal display at the 2018 World Cup which saw them exit at the group stage, thus succumbing to the World Cup champion curse that has seen previous winners also exit the tournament at the subsequent World Cup event.

According to online sportsbook news, a large section of the German supporters and the German press have lambasted the 29-year-old for the country’s shock exit at the group stage, to which Mustafa Ozil – Mesut Ozil’s father – has responded by saying his son has been “made a scapegoat” for Germany’s failure to progress further.

But pressure on Ozil has been increasing before that due to his controversial photograph with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The picture in question has led to Ozil criticism and even his loyalty to his birth nation has been brought into question by Germany’s general manager Oliver Bierhoff – a former football legend that won the 1996 Euro Cup in England.

Later on Bierhoff retracted his comments about Ozil’s loyalty and issued an apology admitting he was wrong about making those claims, but that still hasn’t stopped Ozil’s father from retorting with his very own statements about the matter.

“This statement is insolent. In my opinion, it is aimed at saving one’s own skin,” said Mustafa Ozil, before claiming that he took a picture with Erdogan simply out of “politeness” towards the Turkish president.

Ozil has been instrumental in Germany’s previous success

“He no longer wants to explain himself, he no longer wants to have to defend himself all the time,” Mustafa commented about his son. “He has been playing for nine years in the German team… including becoming world champions with the A-team.”

“He has contributed a lot for this country. It has always: if we win, we win together. But when we lose, we lose because of Ozil? He is now getting whistled at and made a scapegoat. I can understand if he feels insulted.”

Ozil, being of Turkish origin but born in Gelsenkirchen, was eligible to play for either Turkey or Germany, but in the end chose represent the latter at international level having been born in West European country. He first made his debut for Germany at the age of 20 in 2009, and has since then appeared in 92 official games, finding the back of the net on 23 occasions, while providing countless more assists for his teammates, online sportsbooks in Turkey report.

His first taste of success with the German national side came in 2010 World Cup in South Africa when they clinched third place in the tournament after defeating Uruguay in a thrilling 3-2 match for the bronze medal. But four years later, Ozil would achieve even greater success in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil as Germany cruised glory to lift their fourth World Cup title in their illustrious history.