Mario Götze

Borussia Dortmund

Early life

Götze is a product of Dortmund's youth academy, first entering the club as an eight-year-old. He made his Bundesliga debut on 21 November 2009 in a scoreless draw against Mainz 05, coming on as a substitute for Jakub Błaszczykowski in the 88th minute. During the winter break of the 2009–10 Bundesliga season, Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp promoted Götze to the first team. He finished the 2009–10 season with five appearances. Götze took his chance and was an important player in Dortmund's Bundesliga-winning squad of the 2010–11 season. He finished 2010–11 season with eight goals in 41 appearances. In 2010, German Football Association's then technical director Matthias Sammer described Götze as "one of the best talents Germany has ever had." He played in the 2011 German Super Cup' losing to Schalke 04. In January 2012, Götze was diagnosed with a hip injury; cartilage in Götze's hip had inflamed under stress.

On 27 March 2012, Götze signed a new contract with Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at Dortmund until 2016. His contract, however, contained a release clause from the club, triggered by a fixed transfer fee of at least €37 million. Götze spoke about his contract extension, saying, "Everyone knows how comfortable I feel in Dortmund. The club are far from finished with their recent resurgence. And I want to be part of this development." In April 2012, Götze made the squad for the first time since his hip injury but was an unused…

Senior career

After ascending through several youth teams, Götze was called up for his first senior match for Germany against Sweden, on 17 November 2010. He made his debut that day, coming on in the 78th minute in a goalless draw, substituting for his Dortmund teammate Kevin Großkreutz and becoming the youngest German international since Uwe Seeler. Götze and André Schürrle, who came on simultaneously, are the first two German players to be born in reunified Germany. He made his second appearance for the national team in a friendly match against Italy on 9 February 2011. Götze's first goal for Germany was against Brazil on 10 August 2011; at 19 years and 68 days, he became the joint-youngest goalscorer for the Germany national team in the post-war era along with Klaus Stürmer, who scored on debut against France on 16 October 1954. He was included in the 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2012 on 28 May 2012. Götze made his tournament debut in a 4–2 victory after coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute against Greece.

2014 World Cup

Götze contributed four goals in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, and was named in Germany's squad for the tournament finals. Götze was named in the starting line-up against Portugal in the team's opening match, winning the penalty kick for Germany's opening goal on his World Cup debut. In the team's second match, he scored the opening goal and was named the Man of the Match in a 2–2 draw with Ghana. Götze played just 14 minutes in…

Götze is capable of playing as either a left or right winger, attacking midfielder and also as a "false 9". Götze was considered to be one of the best young players in the world, possessing speed, technique, dribbling skills and playmaking capabilities. In his first stint at Dortmund, under manager Jürgen Klopp, Götze often played different roles in the team's 4–2–3–1 formation. Following the departure of fellow playmaker Shinji Kagawa in 2012, during the 2012–13 season, Klopp assigned Götze as central attacking midfielder. For Germany, Götze's talent has been used by German coach Joachim Löw in the "false 9" role. In more recent seasons with Dortmund, coach Lucien Favre has also used Götze in this role. In 2010, the German Football Association's then-Technical Director Matthias Sammer described Götze as "one of the best talents Germany has ever had." One year later, German football legend Franz Beckenbauer described Götze as "German Messi" for his speed and style of play. However, Götze's pace deteriorated before the peak age of an average professional footballer, and this was seen as one of the reasons for his second departure from Borussia Dortmund. In 2012, Franz Beckenbauer spoke about Götze, along with Marco Reus, saying, "...as a classic duo there is nobody better than the prolific Götze and Reus."

Club

As of match played 21 August 2026

International

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Götze goal.