Mesut Ozil regularly gets flak, sometimes needlessly, for not turning up, but no-one can deny the supreme playmaking talents he has in his locker.
His assist record speaks for itself and the German has a special ability to pick out passes that you didn't even no existed, such is his next level vision.
One of the most pertinent examples came during a Euro 2012 Group B game against Denmark in Lyiv, when Ozil, playing for Real Madrid at the time, produced a truly extraordinary piece of play.
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The former Schalke and Werder Bremen conjured up an insane 'bounce pass' into the path of teammate Sami Khedira.
At first glance, one might think he's scuffed the ball but watch it on loop and you'll realise he absolutely meant to do it. He two the two defenders out of the game with one creative through ball.
Two years later, Ozil was an integral part of the Germany side that went all the way in Brazil to win their fourth World Cup. He now has 90 caps and 23 goals for his country, with his importance not to be understated.
There were doubts over the Arsenal man's fitness ahead of his third World Cup after he sat out training with Saudi Arabia following reports of a knee injury suffered in the 2-1 friendly defeat against Austria - a game which he scored in.
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However, he took to Twitter to ease fears and revealed he was back running again in a light session:
Topics: Football News, Football, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Germany, Arsenal, World Cup
