With two man-of-the-match awards but no goals yet, German star Mesut Ozil is keen to step on the pedal against Italy tonight
Germany’s attacking midfielder Mesut Ozil is not only confident that his team will beat Italy in tonight’s Euro 2012 second semi-final here, but he believes he will have a significant role to play in it too.
Mesut Ozil after Germany’s 4-2 quarter-final win over Greece recently. Pic/Getty images
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The Real Madrid ace was one of the leading lights in Germany’s qualification for UEFA Euro 2012, scoring five times in the campaign that saw Germany win 10 out of 10 games to top their group. Here in Poland-Ukraine too, Ozil has had a decent outing this far, and though he has not scored yet, he has provided some valuable assists that have led to him winning the Man of the Match award twice — first in the 1-0 victory over Portugal in the opening group match and then in the quarter-final 4-2 win over Greece.
However, Ozil is keen to score and tonight’s semi-final against Italy could just be his moment of glory. It’s no wonder then that the playmaker, who has been an integral part of the German team with three assists, sounded confident on the eve of the clash.u00a0
“Our goal is to bring the European title back to Germany. We are here for this. We can beat Italy and we want the title,” said the 23-year-old star medio.
Nothing and no one seems to scare the frail-looking headband-sporting baby-faced attacking midfielder. “Andrea Pirlo is a world-class player and Mario Balotelli is a great striker. But we do not think of the individual adversaries. Italy are a very compact team, but we can beat them,” he added.
Ozil heads into this match on the back of two crucial assists in the game against Greece. And now he believes it’s time to take his game that one step ahead. “I was very happy to have shown what I can do in the last game. Now, I will demonstrate in the game against Italy that I can put my foot on the pedal too,” he signed off. u00a0
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