İlkay Gündoğan learned football on the streets of Gelsenkirchen. He survived hostility and injuries. Now he is leading the German national team into the European Championship tournament. Who is the man? An encounter with people who have accompanied him on his journey.
The best gift for İlkay Gündoğan is when someone brings him a story. Preferably one from a long time ago, from Gelsenkirchen or Nuremberg. Stories from Dortmund or Manchester, even if not quite as mature, are also welcome, as long as they take him back to a world that was once a place of longing for him.
Two people visit Gündoğan regularly: his childhood friend Ferhat Çankaya from Gelsenkirchen-Heßler and Harald Schmidt, the former headmaster of the Bertolt Brecht School in Nuremberg. The two always have stories to tell, things long forgotten, but also anecdotes that sound better with each repetition. The storytellers also include Pep Guardiola, with whom Gündoğan occasionally speaks on the phone, and Jürgen Klopp, who of course knows what words are needed to turn it into a heroic epic.
Ferhat Çankaya says that there is probably nothing that Gündoğan enjoys more than the old stories. Pressing the pause button for a moment, pausing the present for a moment before moving on to the next game on the great football journey. That is how Çankaya interprets it.
This journey has taken İlkay Gündoğan far. From the backyards of the north-west of Gelsenkirchen to Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and FC Barcelona. Gündoğan has become German champion and DFB Cup winner with Dortmund, he has won the Champions League and the English championship five times with Manchester City.
And now, at the age of 33, Gündoğan will lead the German national team in the European Championship, which begins this Friday with the match against Scotland. He is the captain of Germany’s most important team – a country that rejected him six years ago and only now seems to be making peace with him.
For this story, the star spoke to family members and companions of İlkay Gündoğan. It is an attempt to portray an athlete using the descriptions of those who have been close to him for years.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
