- Gotze worked with Guardiola and Klopp
- Says the latter was better with players
- German struggled after 2014 World Cup win
WHAT HAPPENED?
At the age of 22, Gotze scored the winning goal against Argentina in the 2014 World Cup final as the Germans lifted the famous trophy for the fourth time. However, the attacking midfielder has, arguably, not reached those heights again, with the 32-year-old saying it was hard to maintain that level for a long time. He has also contrasted the management styles of his former Borussia Dortmund boss Klopp and ex-Bayern Munich manager Guardiola during his respective stints at the German giants.
WHAT MARIO GOTZE SAID
He told German publication ZEITmagazin: “When it comes to managing people, I was used to Jurgen Klopp. Jurgen, then as now, simply has a great feeling for people and their situation. With Pep [Guardiola], it was all about performance.”
However, having been rocketed to stardom as a young player, he admits that it was the ex-Liverpool boss he needed more than Guardiola “because with all the expectations that were placed on me, I needed this one more facet in my life situation.”
On winning the World Cup at 22, he added: “It was a liberation. Also a satisfaction because I had played so little during the tournament. Joy, of course. And I still remember: the next season started with the DFB-Pokal. You score that goal and three weeks later you’re on the pitch against third division team Preussen Munster… The discrepancy was pretty stark. You had to get used to it.
“If I could paint a picture of my career, I would have scored the goal at the age of 35 in my last tournament and then said: ‘That’s it, I’m quitting’.”
Because of this success, Gotze admitted the “bar was very high” from thereon in.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Gotze has still enjoyed a stellar career. He has been capped 66 times by Germany, has won multiple trophies at Dortmund, Bayern, and PSV. However, the Eintracht Frankfurt man has not quite kicked on from that 2014 World Cup win, as many predicted he would.
WHAT NEXT?
Gotze was not picked for Germany’s 27-man preliminary squad ahead of this year’s European Championship, and following the conclusion of the Bundesliga season he will now head off on his summer break.
