‘Bundesliga stars better the English game’
IF you want a sleek, classy and reliable car, you normally opt for one made in Germany. And it’s proving to be the same case in the Premier League.
When clubs want a high-quality player who can adapt to English football, they’re opting for players from the Bundesliga.
In the last 18 months, there has been a flood of pivotal arrivals.
Leicester pair Christian Fuchs and Shinji Okazaki helped the Foxes win the league last season.
Liverpool brought in Roberto Firmino and Joel Matip and Arsenal snapped up Granit Xhaka.
But few have had quite as eye-catching an introduction as Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan.
His two goals in midweek helped City beat Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League.
City manager Pep Guardiola had admired the midfielder when he was in charge of Bayern Munich and Gundogan was at Borussia Dortmund.
So Guardiola had no hesitation in going for him when he got to England, even though the player had a knee injury which forced him to miss the Euros and the start of the season.
Yet, once on the pitch, Gundogan hit the ground running. And he’s able to explain why players from the Bundesliga are having such an impact.
“I am not surprised by the numbers here,” he says. “The Bundesliga has great quality and there are a lot of great teams.
“It doesn’t surprise me a lot of good players have come here and I think there will be more.
“We can definitely say that the type of football played in the Premier League is improving.
“When you think about 10 or 15 years ago, everything was about kick and rush – long balls and just run behind the ball.
“There has definitely been a foreign influence. The quality is becoming higher and higher.”
Gundogan’s efforts against Barca delighted his new manager and his old Dortmund boss, as Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp texted his former player to offer his congratulations.
But it shows the special position Gundogan is in, having worked for two of the most dynamic managers in football.
“With this kind of manager, you need to work hard to improve yourself,” he reasons.
“I had a good experience with Jurgen, and now with Pep.
“They are something special. Maybe it’s charisma, maybe it’s mentality but you can see they are fixed to win and be successful.
“They are obsessed with that.
“They will improve every single player and take the team to the next level.”