Mesut Ozil was born in Gelsenkirchen, to Turkish parents. Growing up in Germany with Turkish parents has influenced the 26-year-olds outlook on life. He sees football as a positive way to impact multi-cultural youngsters in his homeland Germany, speaking to Arsenal Player, he said: “I’m very proud but our task is to play football, integration is a difficult topic.
“The best example is the German national team because lots of people from other cultures come together and play with respect. That’s how it should be in general life.”
Ozil also thinks being honest, regardless of background or status, would lead to a much better society: “You should be open with one another, you should treat each other with respect. If that happened, things would look different, also in general.”
The play-maker thinks having an open mind going into new situations and environments helps when integrating with a new group: “I’m the sort of person who can integrate quickly, I’m a normal person and people who know me know that I’m quite quiet and just like doing my thing.
“That was the case here, with the German national team and in my youth.
“For example, when I experienced things changing, like if I changed class at school, it wasn’t the case that I would worry about how I would cope not knowing anyone, it was the opposite. I was and still am very open when I meet people.”
This open-minded attitude helped the German settle with his new Arsenal team-mates and to life in the capital.
“It was like that at Arsenal too. When I joined the club, I knew some players from playing alongside them in the national team or at Werder Bremen.
“But in general, I enjoy being able to meet new people and experience new cultures.”
Ozil also sees football as an opportunity for him to grow as a person and learn as much about the various cultures he encounters on his travels.
“I lived in Spain and got to know the wonderful culture and people there. Now I’m in England, where I’m learning the language and the culture.”
“I love what I do and I’m thankful that football helps me develop myself by learning new languages and different cultures. I’m proud of that.”
