Löw wants Özil to be his Xavi

When the 2010 World Cup started, nobody expected that Germany coach Joachim Löw would bet on 'Mediterraneanizing' in South Africa the classic style of the mannschaft and that the lung and the force gave way to the right foot. The German defeat in the Euro 2008 final against Spain took its toll on the Teutonic coach, who from one tournament to another renewed his team almost entirely, drawing inspiration from La Roja football. In a team in which two years before the World Cup Ballack, the old German product, reigned now Özil, a young attacking midfielder of Turkish origin who overflowed talent on all four sides.

In the first match of Germany in the World Cup, the mannschaft swept Australia (4-0) with a superb Özil who was confirmed as one of the great figures of the tournament when he scored a goal against Ghana in the third match of the group stage, with which he qualified his team to the knockout stages.

Around Özil, Löw designed a Germany that aspired to steal the scepter and crown of the tiqui from Spain. Xavi, Iniesta and company ended that dream in the semifinals, but the German knew how to be patient and continued to trust in the style that had given La Roja so many successes. Her commitment to the tiqui taca would pay off four years later, when Germany was proclaimed World Champion in Brazil 2014 against Argentina, in a final in which, of course, Özil was the starter.