The European Championship is just around the corner and Götze hopes to be involved. Despite the setbacks he has suffered this term, selection remains possible. Oliver Bierhoff believes that he will establish himself in the Bayern side again and be on the plane to France this summer: “Competition there is high but Mario is a professional and is always looking to improve as a player. We believe in him and think that he will be a key player for them between now and the end of the season.”
Guardiola: “Mario remains important”
It remains unclear whether the youngster will feature regularly under Guardiola or will have to wait until Carlo Ancelotti takes over in summer before returning to the first team fold on a regular basis. The Spaniard has labelled Götze as “very professional” but also claimed that the attacking midfielder can’t be rushed back “as he remains important. There are three months to go and we need everyone to be at their best.”
Bayern are likely to be playing three games a week for the rest of the campaign, so he is likely to receive many chances to impress. “I want to help the team be successful,” Götze explained. His influence could even be felt today in Dortmund...
Occasionally DFB.de profiles a player who is likely to have a special weekend. This weekend, we’re looking at FC Bayern München’s Mario Götze, whose return from injury has coincided with tonight’s trip to former club Borussia Dortmund. Götze, who netted the winner in the World Cup final, has been out of action since FCB’s 5-1 victory in the reverse fixture, which took place in October 2015.
“2016 is going to be an extremely important year for me,” he announced in January. “I have things I’d like to achieve with Bayern and the national team.” The attacker hasn’t been able to put his plan into action yet, due to a groin injury picked up in a European Championship qualifier against Ireland in October, but he may make his first appearance of the year in Dortmund this evening.
“I would like to play an even bigger role at FC Bayern”
Götze started the season strongly, featuring in seven of the first eight Bundesliga games of the season and playing the full 90 on four occasions. The 23-year-old picked up a goal and an assist against BVB in his most recent appearance of the season. He was optimistic at that stage of the campaign, claiming to the Süddeutsche Zeitung that he would “really like to become one of the faces of FC Bayern and play an even bigger role at the club,” however, things haven’t gone as hoped since then. A cameo appearance at Signal-Iduna Park would be a serious boost for him.
Fierce competition in Bayern’s attack
Götze’s main issue is the plethora of attacking talent at Pep Guardiola’s disposal: Douglas Costa, Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller and Robert Lewandowski are all in form, whilst Franck Ribéry and Kingsley Coman have also put in impressive performances in recent weeks.
The competition up front is fierce and whilst everyone is performing well, there is little reasons for the Bayern boss to make changes. “There are a lot of good attackers in the team but they can’t all play at once – I have to make big decisions,” explained Guardiola when asked why Götze wasn’t involved in the recent victory over Wolfsburg.
Bierhoff: “We believe in Mario”
The European Championship is just around the corner and Götze hopes to be involved. Despite the setbacks he has suffered this term, selection remains possible. Oliver Bierhoff believes that he will establish himself in the Bayern side again and be on the plane to France this summer: “Competition there is high but Mario is a professional and is always looking to improve as a player. We believe in him and think that he will be a key player for them between now and the end of the season.”
Guardiola: “Mario remains important”
It remains unclear whether the youngster will feature regularly under Guardiola or will have to wait until Carlo Ancelotti takes over in summer before returning to the first team fold on a regular basis. The Spaniard has labelled Götze as “very professional” but also claimed that the attacking midfielder can’t be rushed back “as he remains important. There are three months to go and we need everyone to be at their best.”
Bayern are likely to be playing three games a week for the rest of the campaign, so he is likely to receive many chances to impress. “I want to help the team be successful,” Götze explained. His influence could even be felt today in Dortmund...
