Carefree and with an inspiring ease, Götze had stirred up the Bundesliga from 2010 with his dribbling and BVB. At 19 he was two-time German champion and one-time cup winner. Bayern brought Götze to the Isar in 2013 thanks to an exit clause for 37 million euros.
The transfer became public shortly before the Champions League final between the two teams and caused a huge stir. A year later, Götze made himself sportingly immortal when he shot the DFB team to the World Cup title in Brazil with his final goal against Argentina. Götze was just 22 years old then. But his attribute “World Cup hero” was more of a burden than an asset.
Metabolic disorder throws Götze off track
Despite a strong debut season (2013/14) with the record champions (27 games, ten goals, nine assists) and presentable statistics (114 competitive games, 36 goals, 24 assists in three years), Götze’s performance in Munich began to stagnate – also due to injuries. He returned to BVB in 2016, a year before the end of his contract. But here, too, one had to realize that the “talent of the century” was no longer the player who had left the club three years earlier.
There were various reasons for this, but mainly health. A metabolic disorder put him out of action for several months, causing weight problems and susceptibility to injury. In his first season after his return, he only played eleven league games. Götze withdrew completely from the public to become fully healthy again.
When he had fought his way back and appeared again as a goalscorer and preparer (seven goals and seven assists in 26 games in the 2018/19 season), then BVB coach Lucien Favre had Götze mainly in his unloved position in the top striker anyway play, suddenly there was no longer any use for the gifted strategist. And so the Bundesliga chapter ended ugly for Götze 2020 after 231 league games for Dortmund and FC Bayern. As we now know, but only temporarily. He will play his 232nd Bundesliga game for Eintracht Frankfurt.
The move to Eindhoven (77 competitive games, 18 goals, 18 assists) has proven to be the right move for Götze. Here he managed to stabilize himself again. Above all, he was finally spared from major injuries and illnesses, so he recently played 29 league games. The last time there were more was in the 2014/15 season. This made him interesting again for “higher tasks” under coach and sponsor Roger Schmidt. They are now called Eintracht Frankfurt and maybe even the national team again. In any case, national coach Hansi Flick said when he took office last year: “The door is open to everyone who performs and shows quality – the same goes for Mario Götze.”
Götze won the German championship four times and even the DFB Cup five times. And yet he is not finished. He wants to prove it to everyone one more time.