Football: İlkay Gündoğan: The agent ends his career in the DFB team

İlkay Gündoğan played football for the German national team for almost 13 years. He never had it easy. When he irrevocably decided on the DFB jersey for his first appearance in October 2011, he was rejected by the Turkish side. After all, his parents come from Dursunbey, a city in northwest Turkey. When the Gelsenkirchen native and his teammate Mesut Özil were seen in a photo with President Erdoğan before the 2018 World Cup, criticism came from Germany. He didn’t want either to be seen as a statement against something, especially not as a “political” one, as he said at the time. That’s another reason why things went differently than with Özil. Gündoğan continued to play – and became captain of the DFB team, the first with a migrant background.

Now the 33-year-old from FC Barcelona ended his career in the DFB team after 82 international matches. He listened to his body. Perhaps the realization also grew that it was standing in the way of rebuilding. This had already been at least partially indicated before and during the European Championships. Above all, this decision, against the will of national coach Julian Nagelsmann, shows how “reflected” Gündoğan is in his actions. That’s how he was often described.

His pleasant reserve wasn’t always helpful in this sport of self-promotion, especially in the DFB team. Gündoğan already stood out as a footballer at Borussia Dortmund, but it was his great success with Manchester City and the appreciation of star coach Pep Guardiola that paved the way for him to become a regular player in the national jersey. As a farewell, national coach Nagelsmann praised: “He often shone himself, and even more often he allowed others to shine.” Gündoğan is a mediator not only as a footballer, but also as a person. This is shown by his gratitude for the DFB captaincy, as well as the financial support for his parents’ hometown.

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