İlkay Gündoğan

İlkay Gündoğan – Emerging from the Blind Side

From being a benchwarmer to an unmissable name, from being paranoid to shoot the ball in training to banging in goal after goal, İlkay Gündoğan has excelled in his career through perseverance and, more importantly, faith in himself.

At the beginning of 2020/21, no one in their right mind would have ever thought of İlkay Gündoğan when asked about the potential players of the season. The German has taken the world by storm with his class performances and has come in clutch to fill in for injured players.

The story of how Gündoğan went from a kid who loved football so much that he took the ball to bed with him, to being a world-beater in one of the best teams in Europe, is quite an interesting one.

Early Stages

İlkay Gündoğan was born in Turkish parenthood in the area of Gelsenkirchen, a neighbourhood familiar among Germans for being home to the likes of Leroy Sané and Mesut Özil. 

He was enrolled on the youth academy of the local club SV Gelsenkirchen-Hessler 06 at a very young age. It was evident from the beginning that football was his biggest and only passion in life. 

When Gündoğan was 15, he moved on to VfL Bochum's youth academy. He also went on to make an appearance for the Bochum reserve team, where he caught the attention of the scouts from 1. FC Nürnberg.

Nürnberg Diaries

After a very concise stint at FC Schalke 04, the German signed for Nürnberg in early 2009. He would go on to make his senior debut on the final day of the season for them and also help them seal promotion to Bundesliga.

Gündoğan's Bundesliga première goal came against their Bavarian rivals Bayern Munich in the following season. He was described by his manager at Nürnberg, Michael Oenning, as a true number 10 and was deployed mostly as a wide midfielder.

18-year-old Gündoğan was the saving grace for the relegation-threatened club. His goal in the second leg of the playoff tie against Augsburg ensured Nürnberg stay in the top-flight for another season.

The move to Dortmund

His impact on the German scene was attracting many sets of eyes from around the country, most notably, from the soon-to-be champions Borussia Dortmund in the 2010/11 season.

It was not about the big bucks for the young German. In his own words, Gündoğan expressed that getting to play the game regularly was what motivated him. He continued his scintillating season at Nürnberg, leading them to a top-half finish on the table and scoring five goals along the way.

Gündoğan's wonderful performances were enough to tempt Dortmund into securing his duties. An approximate four-million-euro transfer saw him move to the Black and Yellows.

Growing Pains

The midfielder's debut season at the club was not one filled with outpouring success in terms of game time. His first game was against local rivals Schalke in the DFL-Supercup which Dortmund lost in a penalty shootout.

Gündoğan's style of play changed completely as he went from playing as a wide attacking midfielder to a deep-lying one. The then-club manager Jurgen Klopp saw him struggle through his transitional period in his initial months and felt better to bench him for some time during the winter.

However, during the business end of the season, Klopp's foresight paid off as Gündoğan managed to make his impact as a substitute. A late extra-time winner in the DFB-Pokal semi-final further established Gündoğan's place as a starter in the squad. Dortmund would go on to win the domestic double with the German at the core of their midfield.

The Engine of the Klopp-Wagen

There was no turning back for Gündoğan after that season. The German would continue to be a regular name on the team sheet the subsequent season. He had become the beating heart of Klopp's Gegenpressing team.

Although their domestic season was average by their standards, Dortmund managed to reach the final of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League. It turned out to be a disappointing endeavour as they were outclassed by their bitter rivals Bayern Munich.

Gündoğan's impact, however, did not go unnoticed. Despite rumours flying around about the midfielder's future, Dortmund's CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke clarified that no price in the world would be adequate to take Gündoğan away from the club.

Unfortunately, this romantic affair between Gündoğan and Dortmund hit a brick wall as the midfielder suffered a spinal compression which saw him miss out on action for around 92 games!

From Yellow Wall to Wonderwall

Injuries would continue to trouble the German metronome throughout the rest of his days at Dortmund. His relationship with the club came to an end in the summer of 2016 as Manchester City came calling for Gündoğan. A fee of approximately 20 million pounds was agreed upon for the midfielder's services.

Under new manager Pep Guardiola, Gündoğan's initial games at the club were truly attention-grabbing. He scored a great number of goals for a midfielder, including a brace against Barcelona in the 2016/17 UEFA Champions League group stages.

Sideline Stories

However, injuries came back to haunt Gündoğan as he suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in his right knee which would cause him to miss 31 games.

Gündoğan's back-and-forth with injuries was a tale he would want to forget as quickly as possible. In an interview, the German explained that his injuries would mean he would not be the same player again. 

Further talking about them, Gündoğan also revealed that his training and physical drills would be limited as well. As a result, he would shy away from even shooting the ball while training to save himself from aggravating his knee muscles.

Return to Full Fitness

The road from bearing the surgical pains to being completely match-fit was an arduous one, more so mentally than physically. The injury was so hard on Gündoğan that he broke down in tears as he was being taken off on a stretcher during the game against Watford.

However, being the braveheart that he is, Gündoğan did not let the injury affect his state of mind for long. Despite the long surgical and recovery hours in Barcelona with Dr Ramon Cugat, the football injury miracle worker, Gündoğan made sure he supported the team from the stands. He remained active on his social media profiles as well and did not let people forget him.

After almost nine months, Gündoğan came back stronger than ever as a substitute in a 6-0 win against – of all teams – Watford. Hopefully, that would be the end of the chapter on injuries in Gündoğan's book.

Die Mannschaft Days

Gündoğan made his senior team debut for Germany in the 2012 UEFA Euro qualifier, coming on as a substitute for the German legend Philipp Lahm in a 3-1 win over Belgium.

Gündoğan's debut goal came in a win over Kazakhstan in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier. The midfielder, however, missed the entire campaign in Brazil, due to the spinal compression which ruled him out for almost 14 months.

Since overcoming his injuries, Gündoğan has solidified his claim to be a regular starter. His latest goal came from the spot in a 2-1 loss in the 2022 World Cup qualifier against North Macedonia.

Pep's Friendly Neighbourhood Superhero

The current season saw Gündoğan become a vital ingredient in Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. The German midfielder, who was initially positioned to be a double pivot, has been given a much more advanced role.

Due to the lack of fitness of strikers Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, Guardiola has been forced to construct a formation without a proper striker. In this striker-less formation, Kevin De Bruyne would operate as the more attack-minded midfielder.

However, due to the Belgian's absence due to injuries, Gündoğan has taken over this role and boy has he stepped up. The German has been ever so crucial in getting into shooting positions in the box. With his positional awareness and attacking intelligence, he has scored 16 goals in all competitions, making him the club's top scorer for this season!

Besides his footballing abilities, Gündoğan's attitude and friendly personality are what set him apart in Pep's eyes, who shares the same apartment complex as the German.

From a minor Setback to a major Comeback

From being a benchwarmer to an unmissable name, from being paranoid to shoot the ball in training to banging in goal after goal, İlkay Gündoğan has excelled in his career through perseverance and, more importantly, faith in himself.

Gündoğan's career is a lesson for every sportsperson around the world, a lesson about never giving up.

If football were a religion, rooting against your favorite would be a cardinal sin. But in the end, it is what it is. Fantasy football is fun. It’s amusing.

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