In the 88th minute of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Mario Götze entered the pitch with a singular mission: deliver the World Cup trophy for Germany.
The legendary account suggests that during the halftime break in extra time, Germany head coach Joachim Löw addressed Götze - who had come on for all-time World Cup top scorer Miroslav Klose - instructing him to "show the world you are better than [Lionel] Messi and decide the World Cup." Götze's recollection of Löw's exact words remains hazy. Yet what followed is etched in everyone's memory.
In the 113th minute, Götze fired home a volley to seal a 1-0 win against Argentina. While Messi has since captured the one honor that escaped him and could hoist the trophy again in New York, it was Götze's name - not Messi's - that became immortalized in World Cup history on football's grandest stage in Rio de Janeiro.
"Maybe he did say that, but to be fair, in the moment, you have so many thoughts," Götze exclusively told The Mirror U.S. "You're in the zone. You just want to play, and you don't really absorb anything. I think he just wanted me to get an extra push in that moment. But to be fair, I barely remember what he said in that moment there."
The iconic image of Götze cushioning André Schürrle's delivery on his chest before striking past Sergio Romero has emerged as one of the most memorable sequences in World Cup lore. Yet the pinnacle achievement of his career nearly didn't materialize.
After finding himself on the sidelines for the 7-1 thrashing of Brazil and earning only a fleeting cameo in the quarterfinal clash, Götze braced himself for the prospect that his World Cup journey had reached its conclusion. Instead, he etched his name into German folklore.
"It's very difficult to prepare for these moments because you never know what might happen. I came on late, and if Argentina scored, I would have played one minute and then gone home," Götze said. "There are countless small things and nuances that can decide moments, and decide if you're going to reach the pinnacle of the sport or you come second and head home. You can't really prepare for it.
"You try your best, of course, and I tried to stay in my zone. Throughout the game, I had all these thoughts about whether I would be brought in. I didn't play in the semifinals and barely played in the quarterfinals, so I was prepared to play but not expecting anything.
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"The final is different and incredibly special because it's the last game and last chance to do anything in the tournament. You just want to win, and the goal is a great memory I bear with me. It was such an amazing moment, scoring in the pinnacle of soccer in Rio, in Brazil, with the German national team in such a crucial moment against Argentina.
"There were still 10 minutes remaining, and when the final whistle came, the relief was incredible. The memory is very, very positive, and I'm always happy to reflect on it and feel that emotion again. When I look back on it now, I truly understand just how special it was, because it's very rare to play a World Cup final."
In the years that followed, Götze found himself measured against expectations few could ever meet. Physical setbacks arrived. Medical issues emerged too, including a metabolic disorder that temporarily derailed his career. The prodigy once expected to rule global soccer instead became something equally uncommon: an athlete eternally linked to one flawless instant.
"A lot changed in that moment," Götze revealed. "If I could go back and tell myself how everything would play out, it would be better. But it was a great learning phase for me.
"With [Borussia] Dortmund and Bayern [Munich], I won championships, then I went to the World Cup - my first World Cup - and won. The standard I had for my first five or six seasons was amazing, and I worked under [Jürgen] Klopp and Pep [Guardiola]. It was almost impossible to keep that level for the next 10 years. That was the biggest challenge for me."
A dozen years removed from delivering Germany's World Cup triumph, Götze retains the youthful appearance and fresh-faced look he displayed when he crushed Argentina's dreams. The path may have diverged from his original vision, but in soccer history,
Götze will forever remain the impact player who eclipsed Messi and delivered Germany's World Cup salvation.
His decisive strike secured him legendary status, a spot in soccer folklore, and as it happens, countless complimentary meals throughout Germany. "I have definitely had to fight to pay for the check," Götze said with a laugh.
Every World Cup final produces a legend. On Sunday in New York/New Jersey, another player will get the opportunity to etch their name into soccer history, just as Mario Götze did with a single swing of his left foot in Rio. Few grasp better than the German just how dramatically things can shift with a solitary moment of brilliance.
Source: Alloutsoccer.com
