Occasionally DFB.de highlights a Germany international who is set for a special weekend at the club on the weekend. This time: Ilkay Gündogan, who will take on Borussia Mönchengladbach with Borussia Dortmund in the weekend's top fixture on Saturday evening at 18:30 CET.
Ilkay Gündogan was practically already out of the door when, nine months ago, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder announced that he would leave the club only to confirm his contract extension at BVB three months later. His passion for the club never deteriorated, especially with the fond memories of having claimed the domestic double together in 2012.
Strictly speaking, Gündogan was already out of the picture at BVB as he was sidelined for a gruelling 403 days between August 2013 and September 2014, missing 88 games in the process. The injury came in an international fixture with Paraguay, when Gündogan’s existing back injury worsened and eventually forced him to sit out an entire Bundesliga season and the World Cup in Brazil.
Return to the big stage
The midfield engine has since then returned to be the reliable hard worker for both the German national team and his club Borussia Dortmund, who will be hosted by Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday evening as the Bundesliga returns to action. Gündogan has appeared in all 17 league games so far this campaign and played in eight out of nine games for the DFB Team. Gündogan was on target in the 7-0 European qualifier win over Gibraltar in Faro and scored the important 3-2 winner against Scotland in Glasgow. “His role [in our team] cannot be overestimated,” says Germany coach Joachim Löw.
The first game of the year will be a true top clash for Gündogan and Dortmund. They won the return fixture at the start of the season recording a comfortable 4-0 victory, but Gladbach have since then appointed a new manager and experienced a great upswing in form. The Fohlenelf are trailing Dortmund by nine points and will be eager to close down that gap and get off to a good start. Dortmund on the other hand are looking to keep pace with FC Bayern after their 2-1 victory at Hamburger SV on Friday evening. Dortmund will be favourites going into this fixture, as coach Thomas Tuchel has formed a well functioning unit in a very short amount of time and has taken Dortmund back to the top regions of the standings – and Gündogan was instrumental in this process of rediscovering their form.
The Germany international recently received a unique honour of having a stadium named after him in Dursunbey in west Turkey. Gündogan may be born in Gelsenkirchen, but he never lost touch with his family and friends in his home region. Local club Belediyespor will build the stadium with the support of the Turkish sports ministry for their “hometown” hero. Hopefully the Gündogan-Arena will produce many football talents who will one day follow in the footsteps of Dortmund’s playmaker.
Occasionally DFB.de highlights a Germany international who is set for a special weekend at the club on the weekend. This time: Ilkay Gündogan, who will take on Borussia Mönchengladbach with Borussia Dortmund in the weekend's top fixture on Saturday evening at 18:30 CET.
Ilkay Gündogan was practically already out of the door when, nine months ago, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder announced that he would leave the club only to confirm his contract extension at BVB three months later. His passion for the club never deteriorated, especially with the fond memories of having claimed the domestic double together in 2012.
Strictly speaking, Gündogan was already out of the picture at BVB as he was sidelined for a gruelling 403 days between August 2013 and September 2014, missing 88 games in the process. The injury came in an international fixture with Paraguay, when Gündogan’s existing back injury worsened and eventually forced him to sit out an entire Bundesliga season and the World Cup in Brazil.
Return to the big stage
The midfield engine has since then returned to be the reliable hard worker for both the German national team and his club Borussia Dortmund, who will be hosted by Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday evening as the Bundesliga returns to action. Gündogan has appeared in all 17 league games so far this campaign and played in eight out of nine games for the DFB Team. Gündogan was on target in the 7-0 European qualifier win over Gibraltar in Faro and scored the important 3-2 winner against Scotland in Glasgow. “His role [in our team] cannot be overestimated,” says Germany coach Joachim Löw.
The first game of the year will be a true top clash for Gündogan and Dortmund. They won the return fixture at the start of the season recording a comfortable 4-0 victory, but Gladbach have since then appointed a new manager and experienced a great upswing in form. The Fohlenelf are trailing Dortmund by nine points and will be eager to close down that gap and get off to a good start. Dortmund on the other hand are looking to keep pace with FC Bayern after their 2-1 victory at Hamburger SV on Friday evening. Dortmund will be favourites going into this fixture, as coach Thomas Tuchel has formed a well functioning unit in a very short amount of time and has taken Dortmund back to the top regions of the standings – and Gündogan was instrumental in this process of rediscovering their form.
The Germany international recently received a unique honour of having a stadium named after him in Dursunbey in west Turkey. Gündogan may be born in Gelsenkirchen, but he never lost touch with his family and friends in his home region. Local club Belediyespor will build the stadium with the support of the Turkish sports ministry for their “hometown” hero. Hopefully the Gündogan-Arena will produce many football talents who will one day follow in the footsteps of Dortmund’s playmaker.
