2023-06-28 12:37:55
Ilkay Gundogan He was key to reaching three UEFA Champions League Finals, his football has been praised by multiple coaches, including Pep Guardiola, and now he is preparing to be Barcelona’s new midfielder for this 2023-24 season, a true sports star who has considers himself a loner.
Gundogan is one of those players that is appreciated by any coach in the world: strength, technique, speed, definition. His football began to stand out since he played for VfL Bochum where he developed his talent and several German clubs such as Nuremberg and Dortmund tried to recruit him, including the Manchester City he noticed him even though it was not his time.
Over the years he would play for those three teams at a professional level, although it would be with Dortmund that he would stand out and would manage to play his first Champions League Final in the 2012-13 season. Over the years he would repeat the feat with Manchester City in the 2019-20 season.
Until finally this 2023 would be consecrated as champion with the Citizens following beating Inter Milan. But why does such a successful man consider himself a loner?
Gundogan’s story in his own words
Ilkay Gundogan was born in GermanyHis parents are from Turkey and came to the German country thanks to his grandfather who took the family there following working as a miner. As a child, Ilkay remembers how he used to take soccer everywhere.
“Our yard became a regular gathering place for all the kids in the neighborhood because it had garage doors that we might use as a goal. I played there all the time with my brother. I learned a lot from him because he was older and bigger than me.
When he turned 18 he went in search of the dream called soccer and he achieved it with a career that now has him in Spain.
“I had a feeling of loneliness throughout my career. It’s been like that since I left home when I was 18 years old. As a footballer, I think that feeling is inescapable. Obviously I can’t complain. We are rich and famous, and we can do what we love. I never would have wanted anything different.”
The racism he has faced
Of Turkish parents, but born in Germany, the midfielder himself has revealed what the racism he has experienced in both countries is like, always causing his bewilderment.
“I had individuals tell me that they were surprised at how good my German is. I say, ‘Well, I grew up in Germany. It would be a shame if I didn’t speak the language.’ The same thing happened in reverse. My parents are Turkish. I also consider myself Turkish. But some Turks say: ‘Ahhh, are you a Turk?’ I belong to both countries, but sometimes I feel like I’m stuck between them. They say I’m not completely German. They say I’m not completely Turkish. So what am I?” he wrote for The Players Tribune.
When choosing the soccer team it was also a great dilemma, although he opted for Germany.
Now he has the opportunity to play for the Barcelona Xavi Hernández with the mission of continuing to win titles for an incredible career, that of a character who feels lonely.
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