The honour fell to Helmut Rahn, Gerd Müller and Andreas Brehme before him, and now 22-year-old Mario Götze has joined an elite pantheon of greats thanks to a moment of magic producing the match-winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final.
In the aftermath of the 1–0 victory over Argentina the hero of the moment stood in the interview zone with a golden plastic cup of champagne and grinned almost sheepishly as he recalled the words with Joachim Löw sent him onto the field. The coach had a premonition that Götze could become the hero of Rio. "He told me: 'Go out and show the world you're better than Messi'," Götze revealed. And he went out and did just that.
The goal that earned a fourth star
The player spent the first 88 minutes of the match watching from the dugout, but with extra time looming the coach decided his super sub could make the difference. "I had a feeling Mario would finish the job," Löw said. Miroslav Klose had a similar feeling: "You'll do it!" he whispered in Götze’s ear as he gave way to his replacement. The gifted forward duly scored the only goal of the game after 113 minutes, a golden strike meaning a fourth star for the Germany shirt.
Being bracketed with the nation’s other World Cup winning scorers Rahn (1954), Müller (1974) and Brehme (1990) "doesn't sound too bad," the beaming Götze acknowledged. "But it was just a single moment and it’s secondary, let's not overrate it. We battled away to the very end. That's what won us the title, not a single moment."
However, it was that moment which prompted a wave of ecstasy throughout the entire country. And during the post-match celebrations, the match-winner emotionally revealed a number of his inner thoughts. After taking his turn to kiss the World Cup trophy and while still on the victory podium, he unveiled a shirt bearing the name of his injured friend Marco Reus. "It's an unbelievable feeling, indescribable. It's not sunk in at all yet," the Bayern attacker admitted. "Celebrating with the whole country is just like a dream."
"Not an easy season"
The triumph in Rio represents a happy ending for Götze after a season full of ups and downs. "I didn't have an easy tournament, and it wasn't an easy year," he acknowledged, recalling the commotion surrounding his switch from Dortmund to Munich and a string of injuries hampering the settling in process. But he gritted his teeth and pulled through thanks to the people around him. "I drew strength from my family, my closest friends and my agent who always kept faith in me,” he stated.
[bild1]
The honour fell to Helmut Rahn, Gerd Müller and Andreas Brehme before him, and now 22-year-old Mario Götze has joined an elite pantheon of greats thanks to a moment of magic producing the match-winning goal in the 2014 World Cup final.
In the aftermath of the 1–0 victory over Argentina the hero of the moment stood in the interview zone with a golden plastic cup of champagne and grinned almost sheepishly as he recalled the words with Joachim Löw sent him onto the field. The coach had a premonition that Götze could become the hero of Rio. "He told me: 'Go out and show the world you're better than Messi'," Götze revealed. And he went out and did just that.
The goal that earned a fourth star
The player spent the first 88 minutes of the match watching from the dugout, but with extra time looming the coach decided his super sub could make the difference. "I had a feeling Mario would finish the job," Löw said. Miroslav Klose had a similar feeling: "You'll do it!" he whispered in Götze’s ear as he gave way to his replacement. The gifted forward duly scored the only goal of the game after 113 minutes, a golden strike meaning a fourth star for the Germany shirt.
Being bracketed with the nation’s other World Cup winning scorers Rahn (1954), Müller (1974) and Brehme (1990) "doesn't sound too bad," the beaming Götze acknowledged. "But it was just a single moment and it’s secondary, let's not overrate it. We battled away to the very end. That's what won us the title, not a single moment."
[bild2]
However, it was that moment which prompted a wave of ecstasy throughout the entire country. And during the post-match celebrations, the match-winner emotionally revealed a number of his inner thoughts. After taking his turn to kiss the World Cup trophy and while still on the victory podium, he unveiled a shirt bearing the name of his injured friend Marco Reus. "It's an unbelievable feeling, indescribable. It's not sunk in at all yet," the Bayern attacker admitted. "Celebrating with the whole country is just like a dream."
"Not an easy season"
The triumph in Rio represents a happy ending for Götze after a season full of ups and downs. "I didn't have an easy tournament, and it wasn't an easy year," he acknowledged, recalling the commotion surrounding his switch from Dortmund to Munich and a string of injuries hampering the settling in process. But he gritted his teeth and pulled through thanks to the people around him. "I drew strength from my family, my closest friends and my agent who always kept faith in me,” he stated.
The player started Germany's first two matches at the World Cup in Brazil. Löw rested him for the meeting with USA but restored him to the starting line-up in the Round of 16 against Algeria. However, he was substituted at half-time and only played a total of seven minutes in the quarter and semi-finals. A 32 minute appearance in the final was enough for him to get his name on the exclusive roll of honour.
