Hard to live with being booed by own fans – Gundo
ILKAY Gundogan did not hide his hurt at the way he has been treated by some Germany fans.
The City midfielder – as well as Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil – was heavily criticised after posing for a photograph with Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, last month, and has been booed by his own supporters in the past two World Cup warm-up games.
A number of his team-mates, manager Joachim Low and German chancellor Angela Merkel have all pleaded for the jeering to stop but there are no guarantees ahead of their first World Cup game against Mexico on Sunday.
Gundogan hopes that speaking about the situation will help everyone to move on and focus on football matters.
“Because of our Turkish roots, we still have a very strong relationship with Turkey. That does not mean, however, that we believe that Mr Steinmeier is not our president, or Mrs Merkel is not our chancellor. It has never been our intention to take a political stance,” he told France Football.
“We are used to the whistles of the opposing fans, but when we are booed by our own fans, it’s hard to live with.
“I am always open to criticism. Everyone has their opinion, that’s why we have freedom of opinion. I am for [freedom of expression], and that’s why I feel privileged to be born and raised in Germany. But I do not want to be insulted, either.
“For me, it was important to speak [about the situation]. I want to regain normality. I do not want to hide. Everyone has their own way of handling the situation. Now I want to focus on the basics again.” THERE was a Sergio Aguero moment, during the five-goal destruction of Liverpool last season, which gladdened Pep Guardiola’s heart more than most.
And you can be sure he will remember it when he makes the tough decision of choosing his team, and formation, at the start of next season. With the Blues two up, Sergio Aguero was clean through on goal, a situation where he normally comes alive and finishes with lethal accuracy.
This time, with just Simon Mignolet to beat, he squared the ball for strike partner Gabriel Jesus, who had an empty net ahead of him.
Given the inevitable rumours about Aguero being unhappy that the Brazilian wonderkid had supplanted him as Guardiola’s number one last season, it was a telling cameo.
And the manager was quick to express his appreciation of Aguero’s selflessness afterwards.
“It means a lot to me, what Sergio did. A lot,” he said. “Of course, both want to score goals and we need that, that egoism, wanting to score more than your team-mate, but they have the ability to choose the right decision like Sergio did.
“He was oneagainst-one with the goalkeeper but had the ability to pass the ball. When this happens the next time, Gabriel is going to do it for Sergio, and that’s good.”
He was right, as Aguero and Jesus, who had appeared incompatible last season, scored nine goals between them in three games – that Liverpool walloping, the 4-0 win at Feyenoord and the 6-0 landslide at Watford.
The Blues were arguably at their most destructive in that spell, with Benjamin Mendy ranging down the left, and Aguero and Jesus flitting in and out of midfield, and giving defenders dizzy spells. Mendy’s injury the following week brought an end to that, and opened the door for Leroy Sane to re-establish himself. City did not falter, even though the formation changed from a 3-5-2 to a more conventional 4-33. Mendy will be fully fit in the coming season, and Guardiola has to decide whether to return to three at the back or stick with the threeman attack of Aguero or Jesus, between Sane and Raheem Sterling. Aguero was brilliant for most of the season, edging back ahead of Jesus in the mind of the manager. But Jesus ended the season with the beautifully-taken winner at Southampton and at the weekend geared up for the World Cup with another consummate finish in Brazil’s friendly against Austria. If Mendy reclaims his place, Guardiola will be tempted to re-unite Aguero and Jesus as a lethal pair. But that would squeeze both Stuart Brennan