Mario Goetze goes global

Germany’s Mario Goetze celebrates after scoring the winner against argentina during the second half of extra-time of the 2014 Fifa World Cup final at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. — AFP

Germany’s Mario Goetze said scoring the winning goal in Sunday’s World Cup final win was the crowning glory on a difficult first season following his high-profile move to Bayern Munich.

The baby-faced 22-year-old’s superb chest and volley from an Andre Schuerrle cross on 113 minutes sealed Germany’s 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” said the Bayern forward. “I don’t know how to describe it. You just score that goal and you don’t really know what’s happening after that.

“It’ll be a party with the whole team and the country. It’s a dream come true to win the World Cup, especially in Brazil.” Goetze came on for veteran striker Miroslav Klose just before the start of extra-time and his 11^th goal for Germany will go down in the history books as he made only his 35^th appearance for ‘Die Mannschaft’.

He picked up the man-of-the-match award in Rio as Germany became the first European side to win a World Cup in the Americas at the eighth attempt. Goetze joins ‘Der Bomber’ Gerd Mueller, who netted the winning goal for West Germany in the 1974 World Cup final in Munich, as a Bayern player who made their country world champions.

But Goetze arrived in Brazil after a difficult first season with the Bavarian giants having failed to winning a regular starting place in Pep Guardiola’s star-studded side.

Having won two Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund, the club he joined as an eight-year-old, Goetze became public-enemy number one with Borussia fans in April 2013 when he actioned a 37 million euro clause ($50.3 million) in his contract to sign for Bayern.

The news caused a stir in Germany as Dortmund’s star player turned his back on his home-town club after sitting out their 2-1 Champions League final defeat in May 2013 to his future employers having suffered an injury in the semi-final. He had an average first season at Bayern where he failed to win a regular place despite scoring 15 goals and providing 14 assists in all competitions.

“It hasn’t been a simple year for me or a simple tournament. I owe a lot to my family and my girlfriend (model Ann Kathrin Brommel), who always believed in me,” he said. “It’s not been simple, but I am simply happy to be here. I kept on training and working hard, and we deserved this trophy.”

He first caught the eye in the Germany shirt with an outstanding performance in their 3-2 friendly win over Brazil in August 2011 when he score a sublime 67^th-minute goal to overshadow Selecao star Neymar. His winning goal in Sunday’s final more than makes up for below-par performances in the Brazil 2014 group games. He was left on the bench for the 7-1 drubbing of Brazil in the semi-finals.