Mesut Özil
(born 15 October 1988) is a footballer who plays for Spanish La Liga
club Real Madrid and for the German national team. Özil has been a youth
national team member since 2006, and a member of the German national
team since 2009. He gained international attention during the 2010 FIFA
World Cup and was nominated for the Golden Ball Award which is awarded
to the tournament's best player. Following his breakout performance at
the World Cup, he was transferred from Werder Bremen to Real Madrid in
August 2010. Özil is acclaimed for his finesse and improvisation as an
attacking midfielder. His style and knack for providing assists for his
team-mates and has been compared to that of Real Madrid legend Zinedine
Zidane. In 2011, he assisted the second most goals in La Liga with 17
and the most in all of Europe with 25
