It’s been a year since Mesut Özil gave Werder Bremen the 2009 German Cup with his goal in the final. And it’s been an exciting 12 months since then for the 21-year-old midfielder. The talented playmaker knows it’s been an excellent team performance which has brought the team back to the German Cup final. "We are a team and enjoy one another. We do quite a bit together. It’s just a great group and we always like having fun at training. That’s also why we were up top," said Özil.

The German international, who will also play for Germany at the World Cup in South Africa, came up with a great start to the 2009-10 season. After winning the U21 World Championship in the summer, Özil scored or set up six goals in the first 13 Bundesliga matches. At the beginning of the second half of the season, Werder struggled to find their game and lost five games in a row. And Özil struggled as well. "The second half was certainly difficult. I have played nearly 100 games in the last two years. I was missing a bit of strength and freshness. But I was supported excellently the entire time and regained my form,” said Özil.

"Mesut really came through in the second half, which we needed," said Per Mertesacker. Özil collected nine goals and 16 assists in his strong season, being part of nearly 35 percent of all of Werder’s goals. And Bremen could use a strong Mesut Özil in the German Cup final on Saturday against Bayern Munich. That game will close the circle for Özil. "The cup final last year was a very nice experience. We won and I scored and Werder won the title. We want to try that again this year," said Özil.