The latest edition of our “When They Were Children” seriesprovides a glimpse into the youth years of World Cup final hero Mario Goetze, who scored the goal that gave Germany its fourth world championship.
By MikeWoitalla
Mario Goetze is the middle child of Jurgen and Astrid, whose three boys enjoyed soccer so much that they built a small fieldfor them in the cellar of their Dortmund home. They played with a plastic ball on 5- by 6-yard patch of artificial grass with mini-goals.
Grandfather Willi
The Goetzes lived nearly twoyears in Houston, where Jurgen had a research fellowship with Rice University’s electrical engineering department. They moved back to Germany when Mario was 5.
When Mario visited hisgrandparents, Willi remembers that, “He played in the field, on the street. And as a little boy he was sometimes a bit of a rascal, shooting out the lamps of my garage.”
Marioplayed his first organized soccer with SC Ronsberg where his first coach was Helmut Albat: “He was two heads shorter than the others but still played their legs into knots.”
Goetze, who turned 22 on the eve of the 2014 World Cup, at which hescored two goals including the final gamewinner, included Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane among his heroes. He also had posters of BastianSchweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil — his future World Cup-winning teammates — on his walls. Goetze had Bayern Munich sheets and bedspread but got his start at Borussia Dortmund,joining its youth program at age 8 after the family moved from Bayern.
He became part of the German national team program at the U-15 level, was selected to the tournament Best XI when hecaptained Germany as it won the 2009 U-17 European Championship, and played at the 2009 U-17 World Cup.
He debuted for Borussia Dortmund’s first team in 2009 and 2012 helped it totwo Bundesliga titles. His father OK’ed his leaving the German school system’s highest track a year before getting a diploma and Mario instead did a two-year business apprenticeship inBorussia Dortmund’s front office.
His debut for Germany at age 18 made him the youngest Germany national team player since Uwe Seeler appeared at age 17 in 1953.
Last year, Goetze joined Bayern Munich after it exercised his $50 million Dortmund buyout close. With Bayern, Goetze won his third Bundesliga title and second German Cup.
Fabian, Mario’s older brother by two years, plays for third division Unterhaching. The youngest, Felix, remains in Dortumund’s youth program. Fabian recalls how theyplayed:
“On the street, on the field, in the living room — everywhere. Sometimes we broke stuff in the house and there was anger from the parents. The good thing was they could neverdetermine for sure who was at fault. We stuck together.”
Mario said he started realizing he might be able to make it as a pro when he had success with the German U-17s.
”When you’re a kid on the field,” he said. “You forget everything. I simply had fun playing.”
Asked in a
“You need talent, no question. But I think most important is not to lose focus of your goals. It’s also about work and discipline. Youhave to be prepared to make sacrifices. I went to school, trained, did homework. On the weekend I had games. Of course, there were times when I thought there we other things I’d like to do, butI stayed on the path and it turned it right.”
On what influences parents and coaches can have on a player’s development, Goetze said:
“Parents or coaches can giveadvice, can set up challenges, and support, but the main thing is that one has the right attitude from within. You have to always tell yourself: ‘I want that!’ And one must know: It isultimately up one’s self if one succeeds or not.”
Now that his first youth coach has seen Goetze reach such great heights:
“I can’t take any credit forhim,” said Albat, “But sometimes I think, my God, I used to tie his shoes for him.”
Previous editions ofthe Youth Soccer Insider’s “When They Were Children” series:
Kekuta Manneh: ‘Soccer has just one language’
DeAndre Yedlin: From ballboy to star
Diego Fagundez & Mike Magee
MLS 2014 SuperDraft Picks: Andre Blake, Steve Birnbaum, Christian Dean, Steve Neumann, EricMiller, Damion Lowe.
Clint Dempsey
Coach at Dortmund’s academy is English & has never had a job offer from an English side…..rascals can mature, winning the World Cup can age you…….
Did you hear that US Soccer Development… he was two heads shorter…
He will remain a rascal. Sadly. Good enough to play, to score, to do magical moments. He’s got a gift for this game that is unnatural and cannot be taught or bought. But: He’s a rascal. Look for alcohol, parties, the high life, money, places like Las Vegas (and dozens of other such places around the globe) to very sadly diminish what could be a very superb player over the next 5 – 6 years. Don’t get me wrong; he’ll play, pass, provide assists and score for FC Bayern and the German national side. He’ll still be in staring lineups and often enough the matchwinner. But he’s not grounded. He’s not stable. Sadly.