Mario Götze

Mario Götze (German pronunciation: [ˈɡœtsə]; born 3 June 1992) is a German footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team. Although his favoured position is that of a playmaker, he can also be deployed as a striker or winger. Götze is considered to be one of the sport's best young players, possessing speed, technique, dribbling skills, and playmaking capabilities. In 2010, German Football Association's then technical director Matthias Sammer described Götze as "one of the best talents Germany has ever had."
He played for Borussia Dortmund between 2009 and 2013, winning the Bundesliga title in 2010–11 and the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2011–12, and was a member of the team which reached the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final. In April 2013, a €37 million bid from Bayern Munich triggered a release clause in Götze's contract, making Götze the second-most expensive German player to date, behind Mesut Özil.
Götze was first selected for the Germany national football team in 2010, at the age of 18. He was included in the squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and, two years later, scored the winning goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final.

Borussia Dortmund

Early career

Götze is a product of Dortmund's youth academy, first entering the club as an eight-year-old. He made his Bundesliga debut on 21 November 2009 in a scoreless draw against Mainz 05, coming on as a substitute for Jakub Błaszczykowski in the 88th minute. During the winter break of the 2009–10 Bundesliga season, Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp promoted Götze to the first team. Götze took his chance and was an important player in Dortmund's Bundesliga-winning squad of the 2010–11 season. He finished 2010–11 season with eight goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

Götze with Borussia Dortmund in 2013

He played in the 2011 German Super Cup' losing to Schalke 04. In January 2012, Götze was diagnosed with a hip injury; cartilage in Götze's hip had inflamed under stress.

On 27 March 2012, Götze signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at Dortmund until 2016. His contract, however, contained a release clause from the club, triggered by a fixed transfer fee of at least €37 million. Götze spoke about his contract extension, saying, "Everyone knows how comfortable I feel in Dortmund. The club are far from finished with their recent resurgence. And I want to be part of this development."

In April 2012, Götze made the squad for the first time since his hip injury but was an unused substitute against rivals Schalke 04. He played his first game since his hip injury when he came on as a substitute against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Götze won the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund in 2012 as Dortmund set a Bundesliga record by earning the most points in a season with 81, a record later broken by Bayern Munich in 2012–13. Götze also won the DFB-Pokal with Dortmund (5–2) against rivals Bayern Munich in 2012. Götze finished the season with seven goals and eight assists in all competitions.

2012–13 season

Götze kicked off his season by losing the 2012 German Super Cup. On the first day of the 2012–13 season, he came on as a substitute and scored the winner against Werder Bremen in a 2–1 win for Dortmund. On 19 December, he netted a hat-trick, powering Dortmund to a 5–1 defeat of Hannover 96 in the third round of the DFB-Pokal.

Götze provided an assist and netted a goal in Dortmund's 3–0 second leg defeat of Shakhtar Donetsk on 5 March 2013, completing a 5–2 aggregate victory over the Ukrainian champions as Dortmund progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The result meant that Dortmund had advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in 15 years. Götze was ruled out of the final against Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium, London, as he suffered thigh injury against Real Madrid in the second leg of the semi-final, which his side lost 2–0 but still progressed to the final through an aggregate score of 4–3. His Dortmund side lost the final 2–1 after a late Arjen Robben goal sealed Bayern's victory.

In his final season at Dortmund, Götze formed a formidable partnership with German teammate Marco Reus. Götze also managed to score 16 goals and assisted 13 times in all competitions.

Bayern Munich

On 23 April 2013, it was announced that Götze was moving on 1 July 2013 to rivals Bayern Munich after the team had triggered Götze's release clause of €37 million. The transfer made Götze the most expensive German player of all time. Mesut Özil eventually broke the record later in the summer, transferring to Arsenal for €50 million. Dortmund coach Jürgen Klopp claimed that the reason behind Götze's transfer to Bayern was the playmaker's wish to play under manager Pep Guardiola, formerly of Barcelona. Klopp admitted his annoyance at the timing of the announcement of Götze's move, as it was barely 36 hours before Dortmund's Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid. Klopp later said that Dortmund had no chance of convincing Götze to stay with Dortmund, as he claimed, "He [Götze] is a Pep Guardiola favourite."

2013–14 season

Götze with Bayern Munich in 2013

On 11 August 2013, Götze made his Bayern Munich debut, coming on as a substitute for Mitchell Weiser in the 60th minute. Götze netted two goals to help Bayern get a 1–4 win against Hungarian champions Győri ETO in a friendly match. He made his league debut for the club in a Bundesliga home match against 1. FC Nürnberg on 24 August, which Bayern won 2–0. On 19 October, Götze came on as a substitute and made two assists to help Bayern from a one-goal deficit to get a 4–1 win against 1. FSV Mainz 05.

On 23 October, Götze scored his first competitive goal for Bayern in a 5–0 Champions League group stage win over Viktoria Plzeň at the Allianz Arena. He also assisted Bastian Schweinsteiger in the game. On 26 October 2013, Götze came on as a substitute for Toni Kroos in 25th minute and scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayern Munich with a header in a 3–2 win against Hertha BSC. On 2 November, he made his return to starting line-up in a 1–2 away win for Bayern against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. On 23 November, Götze came off the bench and scored the first goal of a 0–3 away victory over former club Borussia Dortmund. In the team's next fixture against CSKA Moscow, Götze scored the second goal of 3–1 away win in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League group stage. On 7 December, Götze helped Bayern by netting a goal in the closing minute, as well as assisting Thomas Müller, in a dominant 7–0 away victory over Werder Bremen. On 17 December, Götze scored a long-range goal in the 47th minute against the AFC champion Guangzhou Evergrande, helping Bayern win 3–0 and advance to 2013 FIFA Club World Cup Final, where he came on as an 80th-minute substitute. Bayern won the match 2–0.

On 24 January 2014, Götze started as a "false 9" and scored his first goal in the second half of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach, an 0–2 Bayern victory. On 25 March, he scored in a 3–1 win over Hertha BSC as Bayern were confirmed as Bundesliga champions. On 3 May 2014, he scored a brace and assisted two in their 1–4 away win against Hamburger SV. On 17 May, he played the full 120 minute match against former club Borussia Dortmund in 2014 DFB-Pokal Final. Bayern won 2–0 in extra time to win their second major title in the season. Götze's debut season with Bayern has yielded a mixture of success and frustration, scoring 15 goals and providing 14 assists in all competition.

2014–15 season

Götze in October 2014

After helping Germany win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Götze began the 2014–15 season on 13 August 2014, coming on as substitute in a 2–0 loss against Borussia Dortmund in 2014 DFL-Supercup. On 17 August, he opened his scoring account in their first 2014–15 DFB-Pokal win against SC Preußen Münster. On 22 August, he started and played for 62 minutes in their 2–1 home season opener victory against Wolfsburg. On 23 September, he scored twice in Bayern's 4–0 home win against SC Paderborn.

On 18 October, Götze netted another brace in their 6–0 home win against Werder Bremen. On 28 October, FIFA announced that Götze is included in the 23-man shortlist for 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or. On 22 November, he scored a stylistic long range goal in their 4–0 win against Hoffenheim, later voted Bundesliga goal of the week. On 14 February 2015, Götze scored his third brace of the season and assisted one in their dominating 8–0 win against Hamburger SV.

On 28 April 2015, Götze was one of four Bayern players to miss in a 2–0 penalty shootout defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal semi-final. In May 2015, Franz Beckenbauer criticised Götze for poor performances and lack of determination in playing. After a couple of weeks, Götze's teammate Arjen Robben backed him up for all the negative criticism. "You need to make certain experiences as a player," the Netherlands international said. "How you cope with certain situations also makes you strong as a player. Criticism can be good for your development too. You need to fight through the situation." He finished the season with 15 goals in 48 appearances in all competitions.

2015–16 season

On 9 August 2015, Götze started his season with a goal in Bayern's 1–3 DFB-Pokal win over FC Nöttingen. In the next four games, he struggled to make a significant impact in the squad. On 16 September, Götze, coming on as a substitute in 79th minute, scored the second goal against Olympiacos in the 2015–16 Champions League as his club earned a 0–3 away win. After the game, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola praised Götze for his performance.

On 22 September 2015, Götze assisted the last goal in Bayern's 5–1 win against Wolfsburg. On 29 September, Götze was a threat whole game and he scored a goal against Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb. Bayern earned a 5–0 win. On 4 October, Götze scored and assisted a goal against Borussia Dortmund to help Bayern to a 5–1 victory.

Return to Borussia Dortmund

2016–17 season

On 21 July 2016, Götze confirmed his return to Dortmund, on a four-year contract. He also stated that he regretted his decision to join Bayern Munich three years before. On 11 September 2016, Götze played his official comeback in 1-0 loss against RB Leipzig. Despite the loss, he was praised for his promising return. Three days later, he scored his first goal for Dortmund since his return to his boyhood club, with his previous goal in a competitive game for the club coming in the 6–1 Bundesliga win over Greuther Furth in April 2013. It is the opener of the historic 6–0 away win against in Legia Warszawa at Champions league qualifying stage.

After a long time of re-adapting to the Dortmund system, Götze managed to find his form when their side faced FC Bayern Munich on 20 November 2016. Götze assisted the only goal of the game, and earned a 1-0 victory. Almost a month later, he scored his first Bundesliga goal since his return to Dortmund in a 2-2 draw against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

After ascending through several youth teams, Götze was called up for his first senior match for Germany against Sweden, on 17 November 2010. He made his debut that day, coming on in the 78th minute in a goalless draw, substituting for his Dortmund teammate Kevin Großkreutz and becoming the youngest German international since Uwe Seeler. Götze and André Schürrle, who came on simultaneously, are the first two Germany players to be born in reunified Germany. He made his second appearance for the national team in a friendly match against Italy on 9 February 2011.

Götze's first goal for Germany was against Brazil on 10 August 2011; at 19 years and 68 days, he became the joint-youngest goalscorer for the German national team in the post-war era along with Klaus Stürmer, who scored on debut against France on 16 October 1954. Götze made his tournament debut in UEFA Euro 2012 after coming on as a substitute against Greece.

2014 World Cup qualification

Götze with Germany in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying

Götze contributed four goals in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, and was named in Germany's squad for the tournament finals.

2014 World Cup

Götze scoring the winning goal for Germany as Ezequiel Garay (left), Martín Demichelis (centre) and Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero look on during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final

Götze was named in the starting line-up against Portugal in the team's opening match, winning the penalty kick for Germany's opening goal on his World Cup debut. In the team's second match, he scored the opening goal and was named the Man of the Match in a 2–2 draw with Ghana. Götze played just 14 minutes in the 0–1 win against the United States, half of the Round of 16 win against Algeria and seven minutes in their quarter-final 0–1 win over France. The fact that the German coach Joachim Löw brought on Julian Draxler for his first minutes of the World Cup in Germany's semi-final 7–1 hammering of Brazil, keeping Götze benched throughout, perhaps meant as a wake-up to him.

In the World Cup final against Argentina, Löw substituted 36-year-old Miroslav Klose after 88 minutes with Götze and told him, "Show the world you are better than Messi and can decide the World Cup." Götze scored the only goal of the match in the 113th minute, controlling André Schürrle's cross on his chest before volleying the ball into the net, giving Germany their fourth World Cup. He became the first substitute to score a World Cup winning goal, and the youngest player to score in a World Cup Final since fellow German Wolfgang Weber in 1966, who was also 22. Needless to say, Götze was also named the Man of the Match.

Götze is capable of playing as either a left or right winger, attacking midfielder and also as a false 9. Götze is considered to be one of the best young players in the world, possessing speed, technique, dribbling skills and playmaking capabilities. At Dortmund under former manager Jürgen Klopp, Götze often played different roles in the team's 4–2–3–1 formation. Following the departure of fellow playmaker Shinji Kagawa in 2012, during the 2012–13 season, Klopp assigned Götze as central attacking midfielder. For Germany, Götze's talent is sometimes used by German coach Joachim Löw in the "false 9" role.

German football legend Franz Beckenbauer described Götze as "German Messi" for his speed and style of play. In 2010, German Football Association's then-Technical Director Matthias Sammer described Götze as "one of the best talents Germany has ever had."

Personal life

Götze was born in Memmingen, Bavaria. His father, Jürgen Götze, is a professor at the Dortmund University of Technology. His older brother Fabian is currently a free agent, having left Dortmund's youth system in 2010. Their younger brother, Felix, currently plays for Bayern Munich's under-19 team.

Götze has been in a relationship with German lingerie model Ann-Kathrin Brömmel since 2012. Götze is Christian.

Sponsorship

In 2011, Götze signed a sponsorship kit deal with American sportswear and equipment supplier Nike. He appeared in an advert for the Nike Green Speed II alongside Eden Hazard, Theo Walcott, Raheem Sterling, Christian Eriksen and Stephan El Shaarawy in November 2012. In March 2014, Götze was one of the first players to wear Nike Magista boots. Götze appeared as part of a Galaxy XI in an advertisement for South Korean company Samsung alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney, Radamel Falcao and Iker Casillas in a team managed by German football legend Franz Beckenbauer. On 14 August 2014, Konami announced that they had featured Götze on the front cover of Pro Evolution Soccer 2015.

Club

As of 21 December 2016

• 1.^ Includes German Cup.
• 2.^ Includes UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
• 3.^ Includes German Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.

International

As of 15 November 2016

International goals

Scores and results table. Germany's goal tally first:

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	10 August 2011	Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, Germany	Brazil	2–0	3–2	Friendly
2.	2 September 2011	Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany	Austria	6–2	6–2	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3.	7 September 2012	AWD-Arena, Hanover, Germany	Faroe Islands	1–0	3–0	2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	22 March 2013	Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan	Kazakhstan	2–0	3–0
5.	26 March 2013	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Kazakhstan	2–0	4–1
6.	15 October 2013	Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden	Sweden	2–2	5–3
7.	5 March 2014	Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, Germany	Chile	1–0	1–0	Friendly
8.	6 June 2014	Coface Arena, Mainz, Germany	Armenia	5–1	6–1
9.				6–1
10.	21 June 2014	Castelão, Fortaleza, Brazil	Ghana	1–0	2–2	2014 FIFA World Cup
11.	13 July 2014	Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	Argentina	1–0	1–0	2014 FIFA World Cup Final
12.	3 September 2014	Esprit Arena, Düsseldorf, Germany	Argentina	2–4	2–4	Friendly
13.	14 November 2014	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Gibraltar	3–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
14.	10 June 2015	RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany	United States	1–0	1–2	Friendly
15.	4 September 2015	Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt, Germany	Poland	2–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
16.				3–1
17.	29 March 2016	Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany	Italy	2–0	4–1	Friendly

Club

Borussia Dortmund

• Bundesliga: 2010–11, 2011–12
• DFB-Pokal: 2011–12,
• UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2012–13

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16
• DFB-Pokal: 2013–14, 2015–16
• UEFA Super Cup: 2013
• FIFA Club World Cup: 2013

International

Germany

• FIFA World Cup: 2014
• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2009

Individual

• UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Golden Player: 2009
• UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship Team of the tournament: 2009
• Fritz Walter Medal: U17 Gold Medal 2009
• Fritz Walter Medal: U18 Gold Medal 2010
• Bundesliga Young Player of the Year: 2010–11
• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2010–11, 2012–13
• Tuttosport Golden Boy: 2011
• Goal of the Month (Germany): July 2014
• Goal of the Year (Germany): 2014
• Silbernes Lorbeerblatt: 2014

• ^ "M. Götze". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 July 2014. 
• Gartenschläger, Lars (6 June 2013). "Khedira, Özil, Neuer – Aufstieg der Euro-Helden" (in German). welt.de. Retrieved 17 July 2014. 
• "UEFA European Under-17 Championship Golden Player". 
• "Team of the tournament UEFA European Under-17 Championship". 
• ^ "Ausgezeichnet! Diese Jungstars holten Gold". kicker.de (in German). Retrieved 18 July 2014. 
• Doyle, Mark (5 December 2011). "Borussia Dortmund's Mario Gotze lands 'Golden Boy' award for 2011". goal.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013. 
• "GÖTZE'S WORLD CUP WINNER VOTED GERMANY'S GOAL OF THE YEAR". dfb.de. German Football Association. Retrieved 21 June 2016.