His successes are undisputed. But captain İlkay Gündoğan faces an explosive game in the DFB jersey against Turkey on Saturday because of his checkered past.
For his teammates and national coach Julian Nagelsmann, the matter is clear: İlkay Gündoğan is one of the best German footballers and a mainstay in the national team. The 33-year-old led the star ensemble Manchester City to a historic triple success last season and was subsequently voted Player of the Year 2023 by the press.
Gündogan: Someone “who never shouts”
Gündoğan, who is now under contract with FC Barcelona, was also promoted to captain in the DFB team. First Hansi Flick and now Julian Nagelsmann are fully committed to the midfield strategist, who made the leap into professional football at 1. FC Nürnberg in 2009. Nagelsmann described the former Nuremberg and Dortmund player as someone “who never shouts.”
Even if he is not a loudspeaker, Gündoğan was very controversial in football Germany for many years – especially because of non-sporting events. The photo scandal with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dominated public opinion around Gündoğan for a long time. Now there is a test match against Turkey on Saturday (8.45 p.m., live in the audio stream), which will be the first time Gündoğan will face his parents’ home country.
Turkey game in the Olympic Stadium “special game”
“He is an experienced player, he knows it. He played against Turkish clubs in the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and FC Barcelona,” said Wiegel DFB sports director Rudi Völler in an exclusive interview with BR24Sport away. Strictly speaking, Gündoğan only met Galatasaray with BVB in 2014/15; he described these encounters at the time as “sentimental”.
The duel in the Berlin Olympic Stadium is probably a bit bigger. “It’s a special game for him, especially for his family,” said Völler: “The stadium will probably be sold out, there will also be a lot of Turkish friends in the stadium.” The visit of Turkish President Erdoğan, who is meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin this weekend, could possibly also be watched from the stands. A delicate scenario in politically charged times.
Erdoğan photo as DFB low point for Gündoğan
Gündoğan and Mesut Özil were photographed with the same Erdoğan at a personal meeting in May 2018. The Turkish ruler was in the election campaign at the time, which is why a heated debate broke out in Germany about the German-Turkish national players. This was followed by a meeting with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the lowest point in Gündoğan’s DFB career.
Although the then City player (unlike Özil) declared himself publicly, he was mercilessly booed in June 2018 during the preparatory games for the World Cup in Russia. This is said to have been very close to Gündoğan and the window of his car was also destroyed. After the preliminary round exit in Russia, Özil in particular was declared a bogeyman, also because Gündoğan only played 60 minutes.
What distinguishes Gündoğan from Özil
While Özil then ended his DFB career and accused the association and German society of double standards and racism, things became quiet around Gündoğan. He was already Germany captain in March 2019 when he took over the armband from Manuel Neuer during half-time of the international match against Serbia.
Six months later there was excitement again: Gündoğan had liked a controversial post by his former teammate Cenk Tosun. In the photo, the Turkish national players showed a controversial military salute. A little later he “consciously” took the like back. “Believe me: after last year, the last thing I wanted to do is make a political statement,” Gündoğan asserted.
Promotion to DFB leader for the home European Championship
After the round of 16 exit at the 2020 European Championships and the debacle at the World Cup in Qatar, Gündoğan left his DFB future open, but then decided to continue playing for Germany. Thanks to his success as captain at Manchester City, he also became the leader of the German team. First Gündoğan was the representative of the injured Manuel Neuer, now Nagelsmann made him the undisputed leader for the home European Championships next summer.
Then Gündoğan has the chance to finally turn his image in the German public into a positive one. A successful European Championship in his own country would give the Gelsenkirchen native the recognition he has enjoyed abroad for years.
