Gundogan is a Man City hero. But what bad luck he has in the selection!
Dmitry Zimin June 9, 2023, 16:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Two more offensive injuries nearly ended the Manchester City captain’s career.
Ilkay Gundogan is an elite midfielder for one of the best teams in the world. He lifted the fifth championship trophy with Manchester City as captain, leader, favorite not only of the fans, but also of Guardiola. The coach adores the German and places him in the personal top of the best players. Very soon, the 32-year-old footballer will surely reach the last goal at club level – victory in the Champions League. Before that, he had two finals, both lost. The third attempt is to repeat the story. And only then it will be possible to talk about unfulfilled goals. They definitely are. He missed Germany’s 2014 World Cup victory due to a serious back injury. In general, he could finish his career. He flew past the Euro 2016 medal due to a ridiculous injury, not even in training. Terribly unpleasant coincidences.
In 2013, Gundogan injured his spinal nerve while playing for the national team. Not even in Germany did they know how to help him
It was a friendly match against Paraguay in August 2013. Gundogan, already the leader of Borussia at the time, played in the Champions League final not long ago and in his heart of hearts was definitely looking forward to the summer of 2014. And the opportunity to play in the final part of the World Cup.
It wasn’t some kind of accentuated hard collision. In general, few people understood why Gundogan left the field in the 27th minute. Nobody deliberately broke it. And when he didn’t enter the candidacy for the next Borussia game, it didn’t seem like anything serious. And few could have imagined that he would miss more than a year.
Ilkay Gundogan at Borussia Dortmund
Photo: Sascha Steinbach/Getty Images
It was later learned that the player had problems with his lower back. But the German doctors did not reach a consensus: someone recommended conservative treatment, others insisted on surgery. Several months passed, but the situation only got worse. It became difficult for the player to walk. Gundogan calls that period the worst of his career. At one point he really thought about ending football.
And here are the details of the treatment of Gundogan in the Crimea.
The leader of the German national team was treated in the Crimea. German doctors were unable to help Gundogan.
At the beginning of 2014, he even spent a few weeks in the Crimea. Namely, in the Evpatoria clinical sanatorium of the Ministry of Defense. The staff said that they gave the player all the necessary recommendations for his recovery in case of surgery. Ilkay decided to have surgery. He returned to Germany and underwent surgery. And in the fall of 2014 he returned to the courts. This is what he said a few years later in an interview with Sky.
Ilkay Gundogan
Manchester City midfielder
“The recovery period took 14 months. It’s been a long time since I decided to have back surgery. For a soccer player, those decisions are not easy to make and, of course, that procedure was very dangerous. He was very scared, he didn’t know if he could play soccer again. He didn’t even know if he could walk normally. It was very hard, but with the support of my family and friends I was able to overcome it”.
Skipping the World Cup, the Schweinsteiger heir – this was exactly the image that the footballer had in the German media at that time – called one of the saddest moments of his career. And at the same time he promised to return to the next big tournament. But at Euro 2016 there was a new problem.
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May 2016 Gundogan is already in talks with Manchester City about a move. There is a month and a half left for the start of the final part of the Eurocup. However, the season in Germany is not over yet. Borussia no longer fights for anything. Bayern came out in the championship, so everyone was preparing for the last games of the season as a formality. And on May 6, unexpected news came: Gundogan was injured, as a result of which he will miss Euro 2016. Shock.
Ilkay Gundogan in the German national team
Photo: Claudio Villa/Getty Images
Details later. It turns out that before training with Borussia, he played basketball with various teammates. Again, no contact or clashes with an opponent. Apparently an injury from a bad landing. And the diagnosis is displacement of the patella.
“Of course, this is a blow to all of us,” lamented the national team coach, Joachim Löw, a few days later. – But Ilkay himself is the most difficult of all. He was in very good shape, with dynamic play and good vision. With his skills, this player played a crucial role for us. He’s a huge loss.”
Therefore, instead of France, Gundogan went to England to sign a contract with Manchester City. Germany reached the semifinals in parallel, where they lost to France. And she took third place. Interestingly, the midfielder has a bronze medal at the European Championship. In 2012, he was included in the tournament application, but he was not released for a minute.
And here we remember the stars of Borussia:
Where are the stars of the great Borussia Klopp now? 10 years ago they were in the Champions League final!
Subsequently, Ilkay still had major tournaments. However, they all fail. At the 2018 World Cup, he was only released once and Germany did not make it past the group stage. They said that the reasons for this decision of Lev are not football. In fact, on the eve of the tournament, Ozil and Gundogan posted a photo with the President of Turkey, which outraged the public.
At Euro 2020, the Germans crawled to the round of 16, but lost to England. Ilkay participated in all the group stage matches but did not play in the playoffs. In the 2022 World Cup, he again played alone in the group, Germany did not make it to the playoffs.
Gundogan is now 32 years old. He did not announce the end of his national team career, so he will still have at least one major tournament. Although, perhaps, he has already missed the main opportunities to win trophies.
