Mario Gotze: How playmaker has gone from Germany World Cup hero to fighting for his career at Borussia Dortmund
THREE years ago, Mario Gotze had the world at his feet. Now he is fighting for his career.
Diagsnosed with a rare muscle disorder, which leaves him exhausted and weak, he has been on indefinite leave while undergoing full medical tests by Borussia Dortmund.
It was so different in 2014, when he ruled the world having scored the only goal to give Germany a 1-0 victory over Argentina in the World Cup final
He was 21 years old, training under the auspices of one of the world’s most enticing coaches, Pep Guardiola, and playing for one of Europe’s biggest clubs in Bayern Munich.
He was already a star, and was considered to be arguably the hottest prospect in football.
Keep up to date with ALL the Dortmund news, gossip, transfers and goals on our club page plus fixtures, results and live match commentary
And, having already won multiple league winners medals, his crowning moment was scoring the winning goal in a World Cup final as Germany defeated Argentina in 2014.
However, nowadays Gotze’s future is uncertain.
He never quite lived up to expectations with Bayern before returning to Borussia Dortmund, where his career began.
And, after some poor form in the first half of this season, he was ruled out for the foreseeable future due to a rare muscle disorder.
Here, charts the rise and fall of Gotze.
DORTMUND PRODIGY
The son of a professor, Gotze joined Dortmund’s youth academy at the age of eight alongside his older brother, Fabian.
After progressing through the ranks, 2009 would prove to be his breakout year, as he starred both at club and international level.
That summer, he played a crucial role for Germany’s under-17 side as they won the 2009 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, beating the likes of England, Holland and Italy along the way.
Gotze was named in the team of the tournament for his impressive displays, and was given the Golden Player Award for the tournament’s most valuable individual, an award previously won by the likes of Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas and Toni Kroos.
The same year also saw Gotze win the Fritz Walter medal in the under-17 category, beating Marc-Andre ter Stegen to the award.
With his performances for club and country at youth level, the teenager caught the eye of a certain Jurgen Klopp, then manager of Dortmund.
Having returned the club to the German Bundesliga’s top six, Klopp was intent on building for a successful future with a nucleus of young talent. Gotze was added to this core in the 2009-10 season’s winter break, going on to make five appearances for the first team.
MOST READ IN SPORT
THE GERMAN MESSI
With his quick feet, close control and passing, Gotze didn’t take long to establish himself in Klopp’s Dortmund team.
Indeed, in 2010-11 – his first full season with the senior squad – he became a regular starter.
In that campaign, the lithe attacking midfielder had a direct hand in over a quarter of Dortmund’s goals as they went on to lift their first Bundesliga title in almost a decade, scoring six and setting up 11 of the team’s 67.
German footballing legend Franz Beckenbauer made public his admiration for the youngster at the time, saying, “It is not possible to stop Mario Götze, he runs through opponents as though they aren't there.”
A hip injury stalled the player’s progress in 2011-12, but by the following season he was back to full fitness and ready to lead the club’s charge towards a third consecutive title.
Unfortunately, while Gotze had his best season on an individual level, scoring nine and assisting ten times in 23 league starts while forming an outstanding double act with Marco Reus, Dortmund were unable to keep pace with Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern Munich.
In a deeply frustrating year, Dortmund were beaten to both the Bundesliga and the Champions League by Bayern, finishing runners-up behind their rivals in both competitions.
To add to the frustration, it was revealed in April of 2013 that Gotze would be joining the club’s domestic and continental conquerors later that year.
The move was seen as the next step in the player’s career.
‘German Messi’ was a tag with which he had already been labelled, and now he was set to work with Guardiola, who proved so pivotal in Messi’s development, the comparisons made even more sense.
On the transfer a disappointed Klopp commented that, “Gotze has gone because he is Guardiola's personal chosen signing and he wants to play with Guardiola, in his style.
I can't make myself 15cm shorter or start speaking Spanish. I cannot preach a football based on quick transitions and then [suddenly] start playing tiki-taka.”
WORLD CUP WINNER
Gotze’s debut season with Bayern was seen, on a personal level, as a slightly underwhelming one.
While he contributed his fair share of goals and assists, his productivity was offset by a lack of clarity over his best position.
On top of that, Guardiola was not quite as enamoured as everyone else with a player his sporting director Matthias Sammer had described as “one of the greatest talents Germany have ever had.”
When asked about the Messi comparisons, Guardiola was straightforward in his response.
“There are no comparisons between him and Messi. Messi is the best player in history,” the current Manchester City boss said. “[Gotze]…has done well … and he can still improve. I try to help him, but Messi is at another level.”
Gotze shrugged off any first-season Bayern blues to score the winning goal against Messi’s Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final.
The goal, a stunning extra time volley, seemed important not only for Germany, but for Gotze.
This, many felt, was the true beginning of the second stage of his development.
THE TWIN CURSES OF INJURY AND VERSATILITY
Gotze failed to build on his World Cup-winning goal in 2014-15. Instead, his statistics dropped as Guardiola continued to struggle with finding the creator’s best position.
He had tried a false nine role, attacking midfielder, as well as deeper and wider positions, to little avail. Gotze was now beating his man less and completing fewer passes. His goals tally also went from ten to nine, while he assisted just twice in Bundesliga action.
And 2015-16 was another difficult campaign for Gotze.
Following a hamstring injury he missed much of the first half of the term and struggled to break back into the line-up upon his return.
Injury and his own versatility had stunted his development, and at the age of 24, three years after he’d left the club, he went back to Dortmund.
“With the experience I have now, I would make the decision [to leave Dortmund] at a later stage,” Gotze confessed upon his return. “I wanted to take the risk at the time and make the next step. Looking back at it, I would have made a different decision now.”
But pulling on the yellow and black of Dortmund didn’t coincide with a return to form for the player, who scored once in 11 league appearances this season before, in late February, it was confirmed that he would spent months out following the discovery of a metabolic disorder.
Gotze’s career looks at this moment to be in danger of slowly petering out. Fortunately, he is still young and has plenty of time left to re-find the performances that once saw him hailed as one of the most exciting players of his, or indeed any, generation.