In this series, BFW looks back at all the members of the 2014 World Cup-winning Germany men’s national team — players and coaches — reflecting on their performance back then and checking in on where they are today. The man who immortalized himself by winning the World Cup for Germany and giving every Germany fan their best moment from supporting the team is our focus today. It’s none other than Super Mario Götze.
“Super Mario” started two of the three group matches, sitting out against the USMNT. In the knockouts, he started against Algeria, got subbed on against France in the next round, and was rested for the 7-1 thrashing of Brazil. Against Argentina in the final, he was an 88th minute substitute for Miroslav Klose.
Perhaps the moment that Götze is most associated with is his winning goal. In the 113th minute, André Schürrle ran down the left and crossed it for Götze in the middle. The then 22-year-old controlled the ball on his chest and volleyed it with his left foot past Sergio Romero in the Argentine goal, which sparked wild celebrations from the German team. It would stay that way until the final whistle.
At the time of the 2014 World Cup, Götze was playing for Bayern Munich, then he transferred to back to Borussia Dortmund, then moved to PSV Eindhoven, and then to Eintracht Frankfurt where he currently plays; he has retired from international football in 2023. Götze has been somewhat unfortunate with his fitness after the World Cup, a metabolic disorder has mostly disrupted his club career, but he has since experienced a resurgence at PSV and Frankfurt. Although his club career has been a big “what if?”, he always has the winning World Cup goal to lean back on; that’s how everyone knows his name.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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