German soccer team's Turkish star earns praise...

Today's Zaman

ISTANBUL, July 8: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has praised German national football player Mesut Özil (pic), who is of Turkish descent, saying she had personally congratulated him for his good game after Tuesday’s match between Argentina and Germany. Merkel shared her views on the player during a visit to an annual Medium Scale Enterprises Union event. The union is part of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in Berlin. She enjoyed a Turkish döner at the Turkish Aydın Döner stand, cutting off her own portion from the rotisserie. She engaged in a brief chat with Fikri Arslan, the owner of the Berlin restaurant Pamfilya, about football. Merkel said: “I really like Özil’s game. I congratulated him personally.” In response to a comment from Arslan that the chancellor appeared to be very excited during and after the game, Merkel said there were few people nearby to share her happiness after Germany’s win because most South Africans supported Argentina. The chancellor, who ordered green lettuce and onion with her döner, left the stand after finishing her meal. Speaking to journalists after Merkel’s lunch, Hanefi Aydın, owner of Aydın Döner, said döner has become an institution across Europe. “We can bring this further. We should stress quality and hygiene to improve döner even further,” he said.