WARSAW: The sigh of relief in German football was almost audible when Mesut Ozil made the step up to international class with a string of outstanding performances. At last, people said, the three-time world champions had a new “No 10”. And they were right: a sprightly and technically gifted playmaker, Ozil is the kind of player that does not come along very often. Oezil scaled the heights of the professional game from his own doorstep with Schalke 04, tasting his first experience on an international stage in the UEFA Champions League. It was when he signed for Werder Bremen in 2008 that his career went into overdrive, stepping into the shoes of Brazilian playmaker Diego to fire the club to 2009 German Cup with the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen. The weeks that followed were the most important of Ozil’s career to date. At the UEFA European U-21 Championship 2009 in Sweden, he inspired Germany to the title with a series of remarkable performances and was voted man of the match in the 4-0 final triumph over England, scoring one goal and providing two assists. Germany coach Joachim Low rewarded the prodigious young talent with four appearances in qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup; with great success too, most notably when Ozil magically laid on Miroslav Klose’s winner as Germany pulled off a decisive 1-0 victory over Russia in Moscow in October 2009. Though he is yet to score in the current European Championship, Oezil has been an integral part of the German team with three assists. — Agencies