Ozil relished the challenge against former club

Real Madrid midfielder, Mesut Özil is excited over the chance to play just 30 kilometres from where he grew up when Real Madrid take on Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their Champions League Semi-final tie.

He is excited by the chance to play against his team-mates on the national squad.



In his pre-match press conference, Özil spoke about Wednesday evening’s match at Westfalenstadion and the thrill of facing Marco Reus and Mario Götze.



“Logically it’s very exciting for me to get to play against my team-mates but it’s even more special to be still playing for Real Madrid. This is the third time I’ve made it to a semi-final and it’s a vital game for us. The most important thing is that we give the best of ourselves and try to reach the final.”



The German international then spoke about his recent goal scoring performances, but says it’s not for individual recognition, it’s to help the team.



“I’m happy to be on a goal scoring run but the most important thing is that we function as a team.



“I hope we can give a good image of ourselves to everyone watching and work as a team, scoring goals is not the most important thing for me.”

Özil concluded by giving his thoughts on the shocking transfer of Borussia Dortmund midfielder, Mario Götze to rivals, Bayern Munich next summer.



“I didn’t know anything about this before, I just found out today. I know him well and I’m happy for him but I don’t want to talk any more about this issue because I want to focus on tomorrow’s game.”


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Ozil talks up Real form

Real Madrid playmaker Mesut Ozil has claimed his side are back to their best again after a sluggish start to the season.



The Santiago Bernabeu side failed to beat Valencia, Getafe and Sevilla earlier in the season, and are currently trailing league leaders Barcelona by eight points.



German international Ozil feels his side have left their problems from August and September behind and are back on track.



"It's true that we didn't start off very well and we lost some points, but now we've regained our self-confidence and we're back on track," Ozil said.



The 24-year-old then looked ahead to Tuesday's Champions League match against Borussia Dortmund, and made it clear that Real have set their sights on victory.



"Our objective is always to bag all three points. The match against Dortmund will be a tough one, but we’ll be playing at home and before the fans, who will support us," he said.



"If we put into practice what the coach has told us, we'll certainly get the three points. We're not watching what they're doing. We'll just go out to get those three points."



Real sit second in Group D with six points from three games, one point behind leaders Dortmund.