Name: Mario Götze
Born: June 3, 1992 in Memmingen, Germany
Position: Midfielder
Pro club: Borussia Dortmund
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Götze is one of Germany’s best players, an exciting prospect who is part of a deeply talented generation of young German footballers who look set to dominate for years to come. At only 20 years old, he’s already established himself on the world stage with his poised performances for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League, playing a key role in helping Die Borussen (The Borussians) win back-to-back German league titles and qualify for its first Champions League final since 1997 when they upset Juventus.
He’s special because
A versatile player who can operate either as a right or left winger or as an attacking midfielder (he’s also played as a false striker for Germany’s national team), Götze combines impressive speed, technical ability, deft dribbling skills and superb on-field vision. He’s also an excellent playmaker, distinguishing himself with his accurate passing ability and distribution skills.
Club career
Thus far, Götze is a one-man club. A product of Borussia Dortmund’s youth academy, he made his senior team debut as a 17-year-old in late 2009 and established himself as a first-team starter later that season under coach Jürgen Klopp. He went on to become an important starter under Klopp, scoring six goals and playing a key role in the club’s Bundesliga winning campaign in 2010-11. Dortmund repeated as champions the following season but a hip injury limited Götze to 16 appearances, although he bagged another six goals. Bayern Munich ran away in the Bundesliga this past season, winning the championship by a comfortable 25-point gap over Dortmund. Now the two sides will meet in Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium in what will be Götze’s last match for Dortmund – last month, it was announced he would join Bayern Munich in the summer after the Bavarian club tabled a 37-million euro transfer bid for him, triggering a release clause in his contract with Dortmund. The transfer will make Götze the most expensive German player in history.
International career
After playing at different youth levels for Germany (he won a UEFA European U-17 title in 2009), Götze debuted for the senior team in late 2010 in a friendly against Sweden. Götze was one of five debutants for Germany on the day, and at 18, he became the youngest German international since Uwe Seeler. His first goal for Germany came in a friendly against Brazil the following year, and he debuted at Euro 2012 when he came on as a substitute in the quarter-finals against Greece.
His most famous moment
Two performances stand out so far. The first came last December when he scored a hat trick in Dortmund’s win over Hannover in the third round of the German Cup. Then in March, he recorded an assist and scored in Dortmund’s 3-0 second-leg win over Shakhtar Donetsk to send the German outfit through to the quarter-finals of this year’s UEFA Champions League.
Here’s an interesting fact
Götze’s older brother Fabian is a defender with VfL Bochum II, who plays in one of Germany’s semi-professional leagues. His younger brother Felix is a forward who is in Dortmund’s youth system.
He said it
“When you make it to the Bundesliga, I think the most important thing is to stay normal and to never lose sight of your objective. On the pitch as well as off it there are a few things you have to watch out for and I try to keep them in mind, so that I can set a good example.”
What they’re saying about him
“It is impossible to stop Mario Gotze. He plays as if there is nobody else facing him on the pitch. He has the same attributes as Lionel Messi.” – German legend Franz Beckenbauer.