Nine years ago, the scores were
level between Argentina and Germany in the 113th minute of the 2014
World Cup final. The destiny of a nation rested on the shoulders of a
22-year-old by the name of Mario Götze. With his nerves intact, he delivered exceptionally That night in Rio, Gotze wasn't just on
top of the world, he had the world at his feet. His kinsmen were in tears of
joy and his opponents were in despair. What more could he want? He was at his
peak! But what followed after that, was something no one saw coming. This is the story of the World Cup
winner who disappeared overnight. On June 3rd, 1992, University Professor Jurgen
Götze and his wife welcomed their second child, Mario, in the town of Memmingen, Bavaria, Germany. A few years later, Mario was kicking a
football as soon as he could walk. With a passion for the game established early, it
was almost certain what he was destined for. The Götzes moved to Dortmund in 1998, the
same year his younger brother Fabian was born. In Dortmund, Gotze played as
an 8-year-old for FC Eintracht Hombrucher SV where he proved that age and
size didn't matter, only talent and skill. Mario showed promise and not fear
and displayed potential and not confusion. His youth coach Christian
Dorese couldn't have said it better: "On the pitch, it doesn't matter how old
you are. All that counts is whether you can play. And Mario was quite simply the best." But it wasn't until 2001 that a 9-year-old
Mario Götze joined the Dortmund Academy team. Here, everybody was taken aback by
his ability, but no one was more blown away than Dortmund's youth
coach Peter Hyballa who said: "I've never seen anyone like Mario, he's so
young and yet plays…already so grown up.” And if a youth coach is this
excited about a young player, it was only a matter of time before the man
at the top heard about him. And when he did, Klopp could only thank the heavens Mario's
family came to Dortmund as he said: "We are very thankful to Mario's father
that he came from the Allgäu to Dortmund,” Christmas came early in 2009 for the young Götze
when Klopp brought him onto the senior team. I mean how could he not? Gotze had won the
European championship with the German U-17 team and had already won the Fritz Walter
award for the best German youngster. Götze, now 18, made his debut for Dortmund on
21st November 2010 coming on as a substitute in a goalless draw against Mainz. That
season, he made just 4 more appearances. However, the following season, he made 41 appearances and made sure to
let the world know he wasn't here to play. In those 41 appearances, he registered 24 goals and assists to help Dortmund win the
Bundesliga. But the highlight of his 2011 was making his international debut
for Germany in a game against Sweden. But his dazzling feet of magic weren't
just getting fans in Germany excited as his performance that season won
him the 2011 Golden Boy Award. Götze's style of play was very peculiar and it was
this form of uniqueness that helped him stand out. He normally plays as a 10, but can also
serve as a false 9. Put him on either side of the flanks and he'd still
give you a 10 out of 10 performance. Despite his obvious technical ability
reminiscent of German footballers, Götze also has the flair and wizardry
to improvise and create chances out of nothing single-handedly which was
why they called him the German Messi. Franz Beckenbauer wasn't lying when he said: "He is an instinctive footballer, just like
Messi, It is not possible to stop Mario Gotze.” The 2011/2012 season started roughly for Götze as
Dortmund lost the Super Cup to Shalke. 6 months later, they would lose Götze himself as he had
a hip injury that ruled him out for 4 months. He recovered just in time to play in
the remainder of the season. A season that didn't end as badly as it started, as
Dortmund would win the league and DFB pokal. Dortmund had been dominating
Germany for 2 years now and they had their sights on taking over Europe. By now Götze and Reus had formed a dynamic midfield duo that could go toe
to toe with even the greatest. The proof of this was no further than
their historic 2013 Champions League run. They finished top of Group D which had City,
Real, and Ajax but still, without a single defeat. Throughout the tournament, whenever Reus and Götze
paired up, it was a disaster for the opposition. However, an injury in Dortmund's semi-final clash with Real rendered him out of the
final with bitter rivals; Bayern. Götze sat in the stands helplessly as
Dortmund lost in the dying minutes of the game. But what followed was a plot twist in
Götze's career that no one could've predicted. €37 million… That was Götze's release clause from the
4-year contract he signed with Dortmund in 2012. Just a year after that, it was
activated by a rival team: Bayern Munich. This move made him the most
expensive German player at the time. But it wasn't just the transfer
that was outrageous, it was the timing. The transfer had been months in the making, so during all those last moments in a yellow
Jersey, Götze knew he wasn't going to stay. But you couldn't be mad at him, because
his move coincided with Guardiola's arrival at Bayern. And you know how
every player loved playing with Pep. For Bayern, Gotze made 28 goal
involvements in 30 starts and 15 appearances from the bench. This
wasn't bad at all for the German Messi. As for silverware, he picked up a few in his
first season including the domestic double, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Club World Cup. But Götze's first season at Bayern was just
a warm-up for the real show that summer: The 2014 World Cup. In early June 2014, Germany arrived
in Brazil for the 2014 World Cup, it was Germany's 18th but Götze first. But
it would be a memorable one for both of them. In Germany's opening Group
G game against Portugal, Götze won a penalty and bagged an assist in
their 4-0 win. In the next game against Ghana, he got on the scoresheet but the
Germans could only salvage a point. Germany managed to get the better of the USA in their final group stage game and the
knockout stage didn't prove any easier. The Germans fought hard to get past
Algeria and France and Gotze was part of both battles. But in the semi-finals 7-1
win against hosts and favourites Brazil, he spent the whole game on the bench. Although Götze wasn't part of this
famous chapter of the journey, he was going to write the
last word of the final one. Argentina versus Germany is a World Cup
rivalry almost as old as the tournament itself. Germany was looking for their first
World Cup triumph since reunification, and Argentina was looking for a
3rd title after years of setbacks. When the game started, it didn't look good
for the Europeans. Higuain was presented with a chance that begged to be finished
while another was ruled off for offside. And Messi? Well, he was doing the best he could while his German wannabe was biting
his fingernails on the bench. Gotze would eventually come on
in the final few minutes of the game. But with no goals yet,
this game was far from over. Löw knew if anyone was going to win the game
for Germany, it was Götze so he told him: "Show the world you are better than Messi” With these words, Götze had one thing on his
mind. Win this game for every German watching. When play resumed, both teams went
back and forth but it wasn't until the 113th minute that destiny took its course. Schürrle found Götze who took it on his chest
before slotting it past Romero with his left foot. Argentina didn't have a reply for it
and it was Germany who ended up with the Golden trophy, courtesy of their golden boy. What Götze and Germany received when they came
home was nothing short of a hero's welcome. Now, more eyes were on Götze than ever. The following season, however, winning the
Bundesliga, netting 15 goals, and making the Ballon d’Or shortlist was not enough to make up
for the treble of embarrassments which included a Super Cup defeat and a semi-final exit
in both the Champions League and DFB Pokal. This led to harsh criticism of Götze even from those who once praised him
like Beckenbauer who Said. ‘He behaves and moves around on the
pitch like a youth player. He just stops moving when he loses a duel.
This is the behaviour of a child. This kind of behaviour does not fit in at
Bayern. It is time for him to grow up.’ After the 2015/16 season, Gotze made only
21 appearances due to nagging injuries. But even when he played, it was mostly off
the bench. His time was officially over! However, maybe in an attempt to get back to
his old self, he had to retrace his steps. That's when Götze found himself back
where it all began; Borussia Dortmund. His move was met with mixed reactions
but he knew where his head was and he admitted that the transfer to
Munich was not a smart move. He backed his words with action and
even gave an assist against Bayern Munich. But just when things looked
promising, tragedy struck again! Götze was diagnosed with myopathy, a muscle disorder that made it harder for
him to do the one thing he loved the most. It didn't just break him, it sent him to rock bottom. He managed
just 14 goals in the next 4 seasons. His poor form meant he couldn't
keep up with the young talent in the team so he joined PSV on a free
transfer for the 2020/21 season. But injury also reduced his
appearance to just 25 games. The following season, Gotze scored 12
goals in all competitions. This was the first time his goal tally had
reached double digits since 2015. This earned him a return to the Bundesliga but
in a Eintracht Frankfurt shirt. He's no longer competing for the Bundesliga title like he did
with his old clubs but he'd have to make do. According to Germany's highest-capped player Lothar Matthaus, leaving Dortmund was a
good idea as he said this back in 2018: “His form, which he had before the
2014 World Cup is behind him, for him, you would have to invent a system at
Borussia Dortmund that does not exist right now. Mario is missing the quality
and the right position at the moment,” Indeed, at PSV and Frankfurt, he's been able to
play his number 10 role and occasionally feature on the wing. This coincided with his return from
his 4-year exile from the German national team. However, he hasn't been able to bring the impact
that he once did. And this begs the question: What if Götze didn't suffer so many injuries?
Or what if he didn’t score that goal all those years back in Rio? Did that single goal make up
for all the disappointments that followed after that? Or did the preceding years wash
away the glory of that single moment?
