Ozil is best utilized when he is just ahead of the two other central midfielders and drives forward. Example:

---------Alonso----------
----------------Khedira--
-------Ozil----------------
winger------------winger
--------forward----------

Something like this. Now, the problem with him is that he plays and has got the mindset of a forward
In midfield, he doesn't know how to space properly = passive tracking back.His active tracking back there is very suspect, too (tackling, ganging up on opponents with other team mates)
When he gets the ball on his feet, he is the most smart and confusing guy in our team but without it, he is almost like an opportunist in attack. Current situation:

--------Alonso----------
----------------Khedira-
-------------------------
winger---Ozil----winger
------forward-----------

The forwards and the midfield are split in half.This way, we can't control the flow of the match to the degree that a top team like Real Madrid should do. Any half decent side will flood the midfield to block passing ways, then we have a very deep sitting duo of midfielders who try to initiate attacks as fast as possible under pressure. It does more harm than good, specially against Farca.

There are 3 options:

1. Play him on the wing in difficult matches. The problem, we lose out on a lot of creativity and drive from midfield when he is there.

2. Play him on the tip of diamond:

-----------CM-----------
-----CM----------CM---
-----------Ozil----------
---forward---forward--

The problem here is that, we lose out on an attacker for another midfielder. Ozil has to compensate for it with a lot of goals and I mean figures like 20 in la liga and at least 5 in CL...

3. He learns how to play as midfielder properly, comes back to help out in build up, cover, track back etc. While he is true madridista in playing style ( always drives forward), sometimes sideward passing is important for control to close a match, change the tempo or give the team and himself some rest (ball circulation wtihout running a lot).


Currently, we are going by solution 3. without much development ( I didn't see a change in preseason) with the touch of 2. He shoots more than last year and brings himself in goal scoring situations more often but he does it in a system that requires him to play somewhat deeper
I think the 3rd solution is the best but he'd need years to get there. Bottom line, he has got the potential to control games, not only the attack. Whether he'll fulfill the premise or not is a big question. The matter is important because he is the main playmaker, it will decide whether we'll be succesful or not in near future ( at the moment at least).

Discuss! :lol!:

personally i prefer a 4-3-3 where we use:

3 CMs xabi, sahin, and khedira
with ozil on the right wing but drifting towards the middle to switch to the formation you stated in option 2

we have looked best when we have used the 4-3-3 and now that we have sahin it opens up many more possibilities

His natural position is no different than Iniesta with Barcelona. The 4-3-3 that we are playing this year has him in the middle slightly ahead of Alonso and Sahin/Coentrao/Khedira. It's a CAM position. The width is covered by the wingers plus overlaping FBs. Plus it seems obvious that there will be a lot of interchanging positions with wingers and striker.

I'm excited as I expect it to be much more offensive and creative than last year. However the key depends on good controlling and passing midfielders and although we seem to have the players for this, we haven't yet seen it thus far this year.

deezydeez wrote:personally i prefer a 4-3-3 where we use:

3 CMs xabi, sahin, and khedira
with ozil on the right wing but drifting towards the middle to switch to the formation you stated in option 2

we have looked best when we have used the 4-3-3 and now that we have sahin it opens up many more possibilities

You lose out on one attacker and Ozil isn't your natural goal scorer...

futbol_bill wrote:His natural position is no different than Iniesta with Barcelona. The 4-3-3 that we are playing this year has him in the middle slightly ahead of Alonso and Sahin/Coentrao/Khedira. It's a CAM position. The width is covered by the wingers plus overlaping FBs. Plus it seems obvious that there will be a lot of interchanging positions with wingers and striker.

I'm excited as I expect it to be much more offensive and creative than last year. However the key depends on good controlling and passing midfielders and although we seem to have the players for this, we haven't yet seen it thus far this year.

He still plays very advanced

Ozil just doesn't facilitate the midfield very well. He's great in the final 1/3, but lacks the strategic awareness and defensive skills to come higher. It's a problem for us when our midfield gets crowded.

If our overlaps continue to be awful and Ozil cannot adjust, it's going to be crowded in the middle. In this scenario, we're relying on individual brilliance to carry us as opposed to a balanced team effort.

thing is Khedira is the one linking the mid with the attack imo, he goes forward and defends at the same time, and marcelo kept handling the width

coentrao ruined that today, i think we should just stick to our 4-2-3-1 again, we were good in that and so was özil

we have plenty of attacking players, people seem to forget that this is madrid, id say all of our players are capable of scoring.

id much rather be concerned with keeping the ball and playing well defensively as a team than having 4 strikers..

nuri--sami--xabi
ozil--benz--ronaldo

3 very attacking minded players is enough imo.. and you also have to look at marcelo who most of the time plays like a forward.

omarish wrote:thing is Khedira is the one linking the mid with the attack imo, he goes forward and defends at the same time, and marcelo kept handling the width

coentrao ruined that today, i think we should just stick to our 4-2-3-1 again, we were good in that and so was özil

What midfield are you suggesting?

Omar... Arbeloa and Marcelo have created zero width this preseason. That's why everything looks so crowded. Coentrao hasn't been very good the last 3 games... but the lack of width is not his fault.

Di Maria coming back should help. But the RB and LB positions need to be more disciplined in what they do.

He really needs to further increase his stamina in order to do what you want him to, though... not sure if he can pull it off.

i think we all want ozil to play from a more deep position..

its just not happening, it hasnt happened in the past and i doubt it will miraculously start to happen just because people talk about it on an internet forum.

he doesnt have the stamina or defensive awareness to play from a deeper position or even be considered part of a 3 man midfield.

Utilize him this way:

Arbeloa..........Ramos............Pepe..................Coentrao

......................................Alonso.............................

.....................Sahin......................Ozil...........................

Di Maria.........................Higuain.............................Ronaldo


Sahin and Ozil = Future Xaviesta of Madrid

People,you confuse sprinting/ running/ jogging. You don't need to 'run' a lot in midfield only. He can cover 10 km per game, more than enough. The problem is when, where and how. You won't learn it overnight.

@sportsczy, Yeah, I'm annoyed, our fullbucks don't cross or run to the byline. Watch Bayern tonight, lahm and Rafinha do what I expect from our fullbacks. The front four has so little space, they have to improvise to get a decent goal scoring opportunity. Too much opportunism is involved, I don't like, I want the team as a body that goes for the kill from the start

If only he had the body of CR7s and lungs from Di Maria

Ozil is close to being the best creative midfielder in the world imo, but he just needs to be able to perform for more than 70 minutes

Jeps33178 wrote:Ozil is close to being the best creative midfielder in the world imo, but he just needs to be able to perform for more than 70 minutes

With Madrid's depth, he really doesn't.

Jeps33178 wrote:Ozil is close to being the best creative midfielder in the world imo, but he just needs to be able to perform for more than 70 minutes

heh far from the best, inconsistent.

Lionel Messi wrote:

Jeps33178 wrote:Ozil is close to being the best creative midfielder in the world imo, but he just needs to be able to perform for more than 70 minutes

Xavi Iniesta Cesc and Sneijder all say hello

Most assisted player by far in the world !!! xavi who?

Lionel Messi wrote:

Jeps33178 wrote:Ozil is close to being the best creative midfielder in the world imo, but he just needs to be able to perform for more than 70 minutes

Xavi Iniesta Cesc and Sneijder all say hello

age says hello

Omniscient wrote:

Jeps33178 wrote:Ozil is close to being the best creative midfielder in the world imo, but he just needs to be able to perform for more than 70 minutes

With Madrid's depth, he really doesn't.

So you suggest he gets subbed every single game? Awesome point bro, you should be a coach or something