Mario Götze is undoubtedly a brilliant player. He is after all a man who scored the winning goal in a World Cup Final. Yet, at club level, young Mario has seemingly stalled. He found the net quite often last season but his performances for Bayern led Pep Guardiola to bench him. He seemed to drift in and out of matches. There were many games in which Götze's presence was hardly noticed.
Joachim Löw though decided to start the World Cup with this youngster in the line up. After all, this magical German international had almost caused the coach a headache; when Brazil took on Germany in a friendly in 2011, a show of skill by Götze caused Löw to lose his balance on the sidelines. Germany won 3-2 on a night in which Germans and Brazilians alike were awed by the Borussia Dortmund youth product's skills.
However, the "German Messi" seemed to disappear on the pitch during the World Cup. He scored a goal against Ghana in the second group match; yet, Löw was so unconvinced that he left him out of the starting 11 against the USA in the third group game. Götze started against Algeria but was not convincing. By the quarter-final stage, Löw had had enough. Götze did not start any more matches.
Yet, perhaps the coach was reminded of his prodigy's genius when he fielded him in extra time against Argentina. His choice of substitute proved to be right; Götze scored a historic goal. The skill he used to find the back of the net shows why he was once regarded as skilful as Messi. It is easy to forget he is only 22; he seems to have been around for much longer. He has enough time to become a legend at club level.
With Toni Kroos out of the way as well as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Thiago nursing injuries, the Bayern midfield needs a man to stand up in the manner in which Kroos did last season. Götze however cannot play the role the current Real Madrid midfielder played in his last season at Bayern. He is a wonderful playmaker though and his skill set might endear him once again to a man who seems to love small yet skilful players in Guardiola.
The talent is still there and perhaps the mindset has changed following a World Cup winning goal. May be, Götze will show he has matured enough and is prepared to work hard enough to take over a starting berth in a midfield which has, simply too many stars. Götze is one for the future obviously; however, Bayern does not take kindly to underperforming stars, especially one as expensive as Götze.
Will Mario fulfill his potential at Bayern and become the player he was predicted to become?
