Ilkay Gündogan is an old dream of FC Barcelona. The arrival at the Barça club of the German midfielder of Turkish origin is a reality almost a decade after the strings were pulled for the first time to dress him as a Barça player. Soon to turn 33 in October, this time he sees himself as a more necessary reinforcement to raise the bar for quality in the culé team than when he was seriously asked about him for the first time, in 2015. It’s simple reason. On the one hand, the first attempt to Gundogan coincided at the time with the midfield for history, not only for Barça but for football, with Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic. On the other hand, the technician Xavi Hernandez aims to improve the inside of the game to provide better passes to Robert Lewandowski. The Polish goalscorer closed his first season as a culé in top scorer (33 official goals) but with the feeling that the assists are almost always from the side.
In 2015, Gundogan he is so close to Barça that he even had a medical check-up. The Barça of the second triplet said goodbye with awards to the great metronome Xavi Hernandez and the player of Borussia Dortmund It seems the perfect to relieve the coach who now likes him. Finally, it is Arda Turan who came to Camp Nouin the summer it is also difficult to go to the market because of the FIFA sanction for the so-called ‘case farm house‘. Arda Turan and Alex Vidalthe signings of that summer, spent half a year without debuting as culés.
Barça has carried out a complete medical examination on Gundoganwhich was given months before he suffered a back injury that left him unable to participate in the World Championship of Germany in 2014 and, what’s worse, he feared even for his career. In 2021, Gundogan He recalled it like this in an interview for Guardian. “That was the worst. I was out for 14 months, but the worst was that no one knew what kind of injury it was. I saw a surgeon and he wanted to put a big screw in my back that wouldn’t allow me to play. football at this level. So I was afraid of never playing again and I’m very thankful that I found the right surgeon.”
Like all football scouts, Barça also noticed that genius Borussia Dortmund what’s up Gundogan, Robert Lewandowski and Marco Reus, among other talents, was runner-up in the Champions League in 2013 and won the Bundesliga against the mighty Bayern. The society Gundogan-Lewandowski-Reuswith the contribution of Mario Gotze Real suffered among others Madridto take four goals from Lewandowski on the night that made the current Barça striker a world star.
The resignation of boat he took advantage of it just one year later, in 2016, Manchester City. Gundogan left Dortmund in a €25m sale to become the first signing of Pep Guardiola as the City manager. The coach seven years later was made captain Gundogan from the first European Cup of city he knows very well how big football is and how much personality can contribute to that medium which he experienced several times as coach of Bayern.
Yes in Dortmund Jurgen Klopp showed the path of the vibration to the midfielder who came from nuremberg in 2011, in Manchester Guardiola taught him Gundogan football feels almost like a science. Capable of playing as a pivot, midfielder or midfielder depending on the circumstances, the German will surely arrive at Barça at the brightest moment of his career. This season, the historic triplet of city, Gundogan He contributed eleven goals, seven assists and knows how to play almost everything: 3,856 minutes, no less. Throughout his career he scored 83 goals and 61 assists.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
