Mario Götze: The Bayern Munich years

Mario Götze claimed three Bundesliga titles at Bayern Munich and was at the club when he etched his name into German football history with his 2014 World Cup-winning goal. As the Germany international prepares to return to the Allianz Arena with Eintracht Frankfurt, bundesliga.com looks back on his time with the record champions..

“I was just 21 when I went from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern, and of course it caused quite a stir. In hindsight, I should have stayed longer with Jürgen Klopp, but it certainly wasn’t a mistake to go to Bayern,” Götze told Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, with the hindsight of nearly a decade after making the decision. “I wanted to challenge myself to learn Pep’s philosophy. Guardiola helped me see football from many different positions on the pitch.”

Götze had played his part in Dortmund’s back-to-back Bundesliga triumphs between 2010 and 2012, but nothing could persuade him that Pep Guardiola could not push his career a step further. Not even the BVB fans, who would be furious when the news was made public, and so obviously had to be kept out of the loop as Götze underwent a top-secret medical in Augsburg in April 2013.

“When he was examined by us, the highest alert level prevailed,” said Dr. Peter Boenisch, a knee specialist. “We changed hats, used back entrances, total discretion. We blocked everything here for two hours.”

Götze’s first season at the Allianz Arena suggested he may have been right after all. In 27 league games, he scored 10 goals – equalling his single-season best at BVB – and registered nine assists to earn the first of his three successive Bundesliga titles in the iconic red shirt.

It was also as a Bayern player that he earned himself German football immortality. Sent from the bench by Joachim Löw with his coach’s words of encouragement, ‘Show the world you’re better than Messi’, ringing in his ears, Götze scored the goal that brought the 2014 FIFA World Cup to his country.

But that was to prove the high point of his return to Bavaria, where he was born in the town of Memmingen, as he struggled over the next two campaigns to live up to the stratospheric standards – and hyperbolic expectation – he had established at Dortmund. “Once you set that bar, there is nothing below it,” said Götze of that period. “What’s underneath is there, but it’s bad.”

Initially, the 2014/15 season started promisingly, but then tailed off dramatically. A flurry of seven goals and two assists in just nine league appearances before December boded well, but only a further two goals and two assists followed with Götze’s form inexplicably deserting him even if Guardiola kept faith.

“What is the problem? Mario is the best pro I have known. He has played a lot for me this season, there’s no problem,” said the former Barcelona and current Manchester City boss, who handed Götze 28 league starts in 32 appearances in 2014/15. “I can’t complain, I’m happy with his performances. He’s a young player, his potential is huge.”