The Japanese fans were going wild as Mario Götze was brought on in the 61st minute in front of a sold-out Saitama Stadium in Tokyo, cheered on by 64,000 fans.
“It feels fantastic to be back after such a long time. It is good to see that this is now at an end. Everything has gone as I wanted it to. I am just really happy,” said Götze after Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds.
Götze wants to make 2018 World Cup
Götze had to wait a total of 167 days to make his comeback in a BVB shirt. The 25-year-old midfielder made his last appearance on 29th January in the 1-1 draw with FSV Mainz 05. The former Bayern man then missed the following five months due to metabolic issues. It is almost three years to the day that Götze scored the winner for Germany in the World Cup final against Argentina at the Maracana in Rio.
“Has it been 167 days? Unbelievable”, said Götze. He is now looking forward rather than backwards, after all his main objective is to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Watzke: “Need to be cautious with him”
His new head coach, Peter Bosz, with whom he has been discussing his return to the pitch, was keen to warn about any premature joy. “I am very happy for Mario but we need to see how he does day to day,” said the man from the Netherlands after his first win with the DFB Cup champions. Hans-Joachim Watzke also urged patience. “It is all looking really good but we need to be careful that we do not overburden him. He has not played in five months, so we need to be cautious with him.”
Götze himself is aware of this. “I have been training for a week. That has been going very, very well. I will discuss with the coach what work load to go with. I am completely ready to play and need to build up things step by step. I wasn’t able to do that as I wanted to over the last five months. Knowing what direction things were going in was crucial,” he said, looking ahead to the next few weeks in the run-up to the start of the season. Dortmund’s will face Bayern München in their first match of the season in the Supercup on 5th August.
Zorc: “He will get all the time he needs”
Whether or not Götze will be ready for the first round of the DFB Cup against FC Rielasingen-Arlen remains to be seen. “He will get all the time he needs. The information that we have been receiving looks very good. We are very hopeful,” said Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc.
The Japanese fans were going wild as Mario Götze was brought on in the 61st minute in front of a sold-out Saitama Stadium in Tokyo, cheered on by 64,000 fans.
“It feels fantastic to be back after such a long time. It is good to see that this is now at an end. Everything has gone as I wanted it to. I am just really happy,” said Götze after Borussia Dortmund’s 3-2 victory over Urawa Red Diamonds.
Götze wants to make 2018 World Cup
Götze had to wait a total of 167 days to make his comeback in a BVB shirt. The 25-year-old midfielder made his last appearance on 29th January in the 1-1 draw with FSV Mainz 05. The former Bayern man then missed the following five months due to metabolic issues. It is almost three years to the day that Götze scored the winner for Germany in the World Cup final against Argentina at the Maracana in Rio.
“Has it been 167 days? Unbelievable”, said Götze. He is now looking forward rather than backwards, after all his main objective is to reach the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Watzke: “Need to be cautious with him”
His new head coach, Peter Bosz, with whom he has been discussing his return to the pitch, was keen to warn about any premature joy. “I am very happy for Mario but we need to see how he does day to day,” said the man from the Netherlands after his first win with the DFB Cup champions. Hans-Joachim Watzke also urged patience. “It is all looking really good but we need to be careful that we do not overburden him. He has not played in five months, so we need to be cautious with him.”
Götze himself is aware of this. “I have been training for a week. That has been going very, very well. I will discuss with the coach what work load to go with. I am completely ready to play and need to build up things step by step. I wasn’t able to do that as I wanted to over the last five months. Knowing what direction things were going in was crucial,” he said, looking ahead to the next few weeks in the run-up to the start of the season. Dortmund’s will face Bayern München in their first match of the season in the Supercup on 5th August.
Zorc: “He will get all the time he needs”
Whether or not Götze will be ready for the first round of the DFB Cup against FC Rielasingen-Arlen remains to be seen. “He will get all the time he needs. The information that we have been receiving looks very good. We are very hopeful,” said Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc.
