‘He was incredible’ – Ilkay Gundogan names his favourite teammate

Ilkay Gundogan has admitted he found watching Mario Gotze in training “overwhelming”, dubbing the German his favourite teammate so far.

The Manchester City midfielder played with Borussia Dortmund’s Gotze between 2011 and 2013 while both were at BVB.

How good is Gotze? Five things you need to know…

1. The Dortmund academy product made his Bundesliga debut in 2011, and was crucial to the club’s successes under Jurgen Klopp in 2012 and 2013.
2. He signed for Bayern Munich in 2013, though his career stalled, in part due to injury and a chronic metabolic disorder.
3. Despite his stalling development, Gotze scored the winning goal as Germany beat Argentina 1-0 in the 2014 World Cup Final.
4. He has since returned to Dortmund, where he has 38 goals in 186 games overall, and 57 assists.
5. And Gundogan has revealed his amazement at first seeing Gotze in training at Dortmund.

And Gundogan, who is enjoying a productive season with City, believes Gotze showed ability as a youngster that meant his rise was inevitable.

“There was a guy I found incredible in training,” Gundogan told Talking Tactics, as reported by Goal. “A player I thought ‘What is he doing? Is he only 18 or 19?’

“That player was Mario Gotze. He did things in training that made me think ‘Wow. If he doesn’t make it all the way to the top then I don’t know!’ That was overwhelming for me.

“I’ve tried to defend against him many times, but you just don’t get the ball. Whether the ball is in the air or at his feet, you can’t separate him from it.

“He always makes the right decisions, whether he’s dribbling or picking out a pass.”

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Gundogan reserves praise for midfield legends

Gundogan also admired players from further afield too however.

He added: “I liked to watch Kaka very, very much. The way he played with tremendous pace with the ball at his feet, he just left opponents behind. Watching him was a feast for the eyes.

“Then, of course, there was Xavi and Andres Iniesta; small, agile and inseparable – they always made the right decisions and played great passes.

“Iniesta makes the game look easy, but it’s not. On the contrary, it’s very difficult. I don’t think people appreciate it enough when they watch him on TV.

“He played brutal passes and was always flawless – it felt like he was floating. For simplicity, there is no better player than Iniesta.”

Gundogan also rates fellow Citizen Silva highly, saying: “You learn more about football in general when you watch players like David.

“He’s extremely good in tight spaces, at decision-making and playing the right passes.

“If you have a midfielder like him who can play passes like he does… I don’t want to be a defender! It doesn’t matter if you’re marking him or cutting his passing lanes, both are extremely difficult.

“Nevertheless, one should always be careful when looking to others for inspiration. You shouldn’t want to imitate people if it doesn’t fit with your own style.”

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