Mario Götze has blossomed again since his move to PSV Eindhoven and can at least partially build on his best times at BVB and Bayern.
Nevertheless, the national player is not satisfied with a decision: in 2016 he missed the opportunity to switch to Liverpool with his long-time BVB coach Jürgen Klopp (54).
In an interview with the British “Daily Mail”, Götze talks about the reasons for his decision against Liverpool and his goal in the 2014 World Cup final. He also reveals exciting details about the differences between Klopp and city coach Pep Guardiola (51)!
Mario Götze switched to Bayern in 2013 after a very successful time at BVB (champion 2011, double winner 2012), where Guardiola was just taking over as head coach. In 2014, at the age of 22, he shot Germany to the World Cup title with his goal in the final against Argentina.
Götze says: “The goal in the final shaped me, but a lot happens in a career. Sometimes I still see the gate. It shows up and I’m like, ‘Yeah, that was me eight years ago.’ But I’m not looking for it on YouTube. It still gives me positive feelings, but I’ve seen it too many times.”
Since then, the career of the native Memminger has gone downhill. In the decisive games in the second half of the 2014/2015 season, Pep didn’t rely on him. He only played eleven minutes in the second leg of the league against BVB (1-0), only played 14 minutes in the Champions League semifinals against Barça (0:3/3:2) and in the cup semifinals against Dortmund (1:3 penalties) 36 minutes on the pitch.
It got even worse in the 2015/2016 season, the world champion only played 14 Bundesliga games due to injury. In 2016 it was clear that Götze was looking for a new challenge. The attacking midfielder decided against Liverpool and returned to Dortmund.
Götze talks about Klopp and explains: “We’re still in contact and we talked about me coming to Liverpool at the time. But I wasn’t in a condition to consider it, so it didn’t happen.”
The 63-time international continues: “Do I regret it? It’s always difficult to look back, but if you ask me now, yes, I definitely should have gone to Liverpool. I just made a wrong decision, but I don’t regret it.”
Götze also describes why Klopp was so important to him: “Klopp has probably had the biggest impact on my career. He can be very demanding – he can be your friend, but he can also be very strict at the same time. He drives you to great achievements. That’s how it was for me then and that’s how it is at Liverpool now.”
Will the two meet again at the same club? Götze: “He’s not just a coach for the players, but for everyone in the club, and in private he can be both a friend and a boss. Can I imagine working with him again? I can imagine that, yes – we’ll see.
Foto: Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images
” data-zoom-src = “https://bilder.bild.de/fotos/bei-einer-preparation-tournament-in-den-usa-sahen-goetze-mitte-und-klop-r–sich-wieder– and-were–a3eb6dd1ccf54348ac2351aff4bf34db-79699304/Bild/4.bild.jpg”/> At a preparatory tournament in the USA, Götze (centre) and Klop (right) saw each other again – and were visibly pleasedFoto: Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images
Götze concludes: “He’s a good coach, for sure. He and Pep Guardiola are the most important coaches and personalities that I have had in my career.”
With Guardiola and Bayern, however, Götze didn’t have it easy. He talks about his time in Munich under Pep: “Klopp’s strength is to talk to the players in a certain way, to help them. If you meet Pep off the pitch, he’s a great guy. But when you play in his team, he’s very demanding. That’s a good thing because he’s very challenging for you, but sometimes as a player you need a different perspective.”
Reflectively, Götze says: “At the time, however, I was used to Klopp and that was my comparison. Now that I look at it, I like what Pep is doing – being distant at times, holding high-level athletes together. Maybe I would do the same.”
After his time in Munich, Götze spent a total of four screwed-up years in Dortmund. In 2020 he moved to Eindhoven, where he slowly found his old form again under coach Roger Schmidt (55). Schmidt leaves the club in the summer – his successor is Dutch legend Ruud van Nistelrooy (45).
For Götze and Eindhoven, the quarter-finals at Leicester City are on Thursday evening in the Europa Conference League (in the live ticker at sportbild.de). An important game for Götze – knowing full well that he can also attract the attention of national coach Hansi Flick (57) with good performances.
Götze on his possible participation in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar: “The World Cup this year? I have to play well and be fit. If it works, I’m happy, but I don’t want to force it. The most important thing is that I play and have fun. Then you never know.”
Götze still expect great challenges this year – and in the future. Will this bring him back together with his sponsor Jürgen Klopp?
