Oezil plays down Zidane comparisons

Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Oezil believes he has more work to do before he can measure up to comparisons with Zinedine Zidane.

Speaking on Wednesday, Oezil also revealed Real was remaining focused in their efforts to win the La Liga crown but conceded the Madrid side will need a Barcelona slip-up to steal the title.

Oezil joined Real from Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in August after impressing for Germany in their run to the 2010 World Cup final and has wasted little time in impressing for Jose Mourinho’s side.

The 22-year-old’s performances have already drew comparisons with Zinedine Zidane, who won a La Liga and Champions League title with Real during a five-year spell.

But Oezil was quick to play down the comparisons – at least for now.

“Of course I am happy that I play so well these days (but) I haven’t reached anything in my life up till now,” he said.

“I came here to evolve and of course Zidane was a great player, he is an idol of mine. I am not Zidane. He was a world-class player. I think I am on a good way to reach that. I want to grow and my goal is to bring my best on the pitch.”

Oezil’s team is now seven points behind league-leaders Barca, and has the added hindrance of being without talisman Cristiano Ronaldo because of a hamstring complaint.

But the German believes there is still much to play for in La Liga, with his side also still alive in both the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.

“You could see in the last matches that we have a strong team, a strong squad,” he said.

“I don’t have to say anything about Cristiano – he is a world class player, has scored many times for Real and is of course an important player for us. We hope that he gets well quickly in order to help us again.”

“We just play our game, want to play aggressive and be successful. We always want to win without conceding a goal. Like I said, we are on a good way with this team and one could see that in these last few matches.”

“Of course we hope that Barcelona will make a mistake but we are only watching ourselves. The season is still long and we know that everything is possible in football.”