The German national team can breathe a little easier after their win against Russia secured their spot in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. One goal from Miroslav Klose was all it took, but it was Mesut Oezil who got the ball to Klose's foot.

After fielding a pass from Lukas Podolski, Oezil approached the goal from the left and drew the keeper out. He faked a shot, which the keeper fell to the ground to block. With the keeper out of the picture, Oezil quickly snapped a pass to Klose in front of the goal who completed the play for the score.

It was Oezil's fourth match for the German national team, and there is a good possibility he’ll be a part of the team that travels to South Africa for the World Cup. If that’s the case, a man named Andreas Winkler from Oezil’s youth will be just one of many Germans watching with admiration.

Dreaming of Schalke

Andreas Winkler is the youth coordinator for Rot-Weiss Essen, a soccer club in the Ruhrgebiet. He recalls a shy, skinny kid with a technically sound game, lots of speed, and a mean left foot who came to Rot-Weiss Essen's youth program at age 12. That same kid had always wanted to play for the youth teams of Bundesliga side Schalke, but according to Winkler, the coaches there saw a problem with the young Mesut Oezil.

"Mesut tried to go to Schalke, but they said he is too small, too skinny," Winkler told Deutsche Welle. "But we were happy to get him."

According to Winkler, Oezil was a player who simply loved to play soccer, and he didn't let comments about his size stop him from enjoying the game and improving his skills. Winkler says Oezil was the type of player whose thoughts never drifted far from the pitch.

"You could call him at five in the morning and say to him, 'hey, let's play football,'" Winkler said.

Cracking the Bundesliga

Oezil left Rot-Weiss Essen in 2005 and made it to the junior squad of Schalke in his hometown of Gelsenkirchen. Any qualms from Schalke about his size were forgotten, and he made the jump to Schalke's Bundesliga roster in 2007, playing in some of the team's Champions League matches.

The move to the Bundesliga squad was well-deserved for Oezil, but he didn't see consistent playing time at Schalke. In January 2008, Oezil transferred to his current side Werder Bremen, where he has seen plenty of action. Last season, with Oezil's help, Bremen made it to the final of the UEFA Cup and the final of the German Cup against Leverkusen.

There, in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, Oezil put the cap on his best season in the Bundesliga. In the 57th minute, Oezil sprinted from midfield and took a pass on the run. He got the pass under control, wound up his left foot and fired the winning goal for Bremen in the German Cup, which marked the end of a breakout year for the 21-year-old.

"I'm very satisfied with the past Bundesliga season," Oezil wrote in a post to his website after the German Cup. "For me it was very important to find some consistency in my abilities. And to put the season away by holding the German Cup in my hands - that was really a one-of-a-kind feeling."

Suiting up for Germany

Less than a month after the win with Bremen in the German Cup, Oezil was back on the big stage, wearing the jersey of the German Under-21 national team at the European Championship in Sweden. Germany went undefeated on their way to its first U21 European Championship, and Oezil played a critical role. Of the eight goals scored by Germany in its five matches, Oezil contributed the assist on four. He also added a goal for himself in the final against England - a free kick from a stunning 35 meters - and earned 'Man of the Match' honors.

The match against Russia was Oezil's second World Cup qualification game. In addition to his assist on Klose's goal, Oezil was inches away from his second national team goal when a long strike bounced off the crossbar. His first goal for the national team in a friendly against South Africa.

Joachim Loew, coach of the German national team, says Oezil brings lots of creativity and creates dangerous situations from his position in the midfield – skills Loew will need when he leads the team to South Africa. The coach can also be thankful Oezil didn’t end up playing for another squad.

Oezil's success in Germany caught the attention of officials with the Turkish national team. Oezil grew up with dual Turkish-German citizenship, meaning he could theoretically play for the Turkish national team. But he put an end to the tug-of-war between the two nations by announcing in February 2009 that he was 100 percent committed to the German national team.



A promising season in the making

With Germany's World Cup qualification secure, Oezil can now focus his attention on the Bundesliga, where Werder Bremen are currently in fourth place. They have also reached the Round of 16 in the German Cup and lead their group in the group stage of the Europa League.

After the departure of Werder's star midfielder Diego, Oezil has moved into a more prominent role on the attack with the team's two strikers. In a post to his website earlier in the week, Oezil said that the move suits him.

"I'm glad that I can work so well with Claudio Pizarro and Marko Marin," he said. "At the moment things are going really well at Werder."

With over eight months to go until the start of the World Cup, and a full program ahead of him with Werder Bremen, it's too early to predict exactly how Oezil will factor into the German national squad in 2010. But the scrappy young player from Gelsenkirchen only seems to get better and better, indicating a good chance we'll hear more from him - and his strong left foot - next summer in South Africa.

Author: Matt Zuvela
Editor: Andreas Illmer