The image of Mario Götze holding a Marco Reus shirt up to the camera is one that will never be forgotten. After just winning the biggest trophy in the world and after scoring the goal to settle the World Cup final, he didn’t forget his mate who should have been there with him celebrating. But instead he sat miles from the Maracana watching the game on television. He’s injured. And with only a day to go before flying to Brazil, his World Cup dream was over.
But on Saturday, they’ll be back together when FC Bayern Munich host Borussia Dortmund (18:30 CET). The biggest game of matchday 10 will see the two friends reunited. “I get on very, very well with Marco. I’m always very excited to see him when we play for the national team. We had a great year in Dortmund,” explained Götze. It’ll be the reunion of two friends that are just as talented as each other, but they’ve had different success.
Götze: In the right place at the right time
Mario Götze, at the tender age of 22, is a three time German champion, two time DFB cup winner and a World Champion. He is in the right place at the right time. He was in Dortmund when they won the title. He then moved to Bayern as they wanted to upgrade in order to get back to being number one. And he arrived at exactly the right time in the 113th minute of the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro to get on the end of André Schürrle’s cross.
Götze and Bayern are already dominating both the Bundesliga and their Champions League group. He’s a permanent fixture in the Bayern team and is one of the top goal scorers this season. Nevertheless, his manager, Pep Guardiola, believes that Götze still has more to come: “He’s awesome, but I want more.” What’s more, actor Matthias Schweighöfer has offered him a small role in his next film- “with a script, without a football and half naked.” Götze’s accepted and everything is going well for him at the moment.
Reus: An exceptional player back where it all began
In the summer of 2012, Dortmund had just won the double and Reus had just been voted as player of the season by the other players in the Bundesliga. An association of an exceptional player with the team he grew up playing for was a good idea. In their first year together, Reus and Götze tore up Europe. Time after time, BVB shocked people as they advanced from their group, which contained Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax, all the way to the final at Wembley.
When one of the two executed one of their pieces of magic, the other one was always there to celebrate. But these images weren’t going to last forever and after only 48 games together, Götze moved to Munich. Reus defended his mate on Facebook after he received animosity and abuse from the fans: “Mario has made a decision for his future. Everyone has to respect that!”
Aim: To play together at the European Championship
Marco Reus’ BVB have slipped down to 15th place in the table. His manager, Jürgen Klopp, was wondering at the start of the week: “If other clubs were in a similar situation then you’d consider them as relegation candidates. But for us, it’s whether we can qualify for the Champions League or not.” After suffering a partial ligament tear in his left foot that kept him out of the World Cup, the Germany international had to again miss out at the start of the season with ligament damage in his left ankle.
But Marco Reus hasn’t been on the winning side yet this season! And that’s what he’s trying to do. Crucially, he’s healthy and in form ahead of the German Clasico. The 25-year-old showed his class in the goal that he scored during Tuesday night’s 2-0 DFB cup win over FC St. Pauli. Since he made his Bundesliga debut in 2009, he has played in 163 games and has been involved in 123 goals: 67 goals and 56 assists, with Thomas Müller the only player to have been involved in more (128). Marco Reus has everything in his locker to be able to win big titles.
The image of Mario Götze holding a Marco Reus shirt up to the camera is one that will never be forgotten. After just winning the biggest trophy in the world and after scoring the goal to settle the World Cup final, he didn’t forget his mate who should have been there with him celebrating. But instead he sat miles from the Maracana watching the game on television. He’s injured. And with only a day to go before flying to Brazil, his World Cup dream was over.
But on Saturday, they’ll be back together when FC Bayern Munich host Borussia Dortmund (18:30 CET). The biggest game of matchday 10 will see the two friends reunited. “I get on very, very well with Marco. I’m always very excited to see him when we play for the national team. We had a great year in Dortmund,” explained Götze. It’ll be the reunion of two friends that are just as talented as each other, but they’ve had different success.
Götze: In the right place at the right time
Mario Götze, at the tender age of 22, is a three time German champion, two time DFB cup winner and a World Champion. He is in the right place at the right time. He was in Dortmund when they won the title. He then moved to Bayern as they wanted to upgrade in order to get back to being number one. And he arrived at exactly the right time in the 113th minute of the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro to get on the end of André Schürrle’s cross.
Götze and Bayern are already dominating both the Bundesliga and their Champions League group. He’s a permanent fixture in the Bayern team and is one of the top goal scorers this season. Nevertheless, his manager, Pep Guardiola, believes that Götze still has more to come: “He’s awesome, but I want more.” What’s more, actor Matthias Schweighöfer has offered him a small role in his next film- “with a script, without a football and half naked.” Götze’s accepted and everything is going well for him at the moment.
Reus: An exceptional player back where it all began
In the summer of 2012, Dortmund had just won the double and Reus had just been voted as player of the season by the other players in the Bundesliga. An association of an exceptional player with the team he grew up playing for was a good idea. In their first year together, Reus and Götze tore up Europe. Time after time, BVB shocked people as they advanced from their group, which contained Real Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax, all the way to the final at Wembley.
When one of the two executed one of their pieces of magic, the other one was always there to celebrate. But these images weren’t going to last forever and after only 48 games together, Götze moved to Munich. Reus defended his mate on Facebook after he received animosity and abuse from the fans: “Mario has made a decision for his future. Everyone has to respect that!”
Aim: To play together at the European Championship
Marco Reus’ BVB have slipped down to 15th place in the table. His manager, Jürgen Klopp, was wondering at the start of the week: “If other clubs were in a similar situation then you’d consider them as relegation candidates. But for us, it’s whether we can qualify for the Champions League or not.” After suffering a partial ligament tear in his left foot that kept him out of the World Cup, the Germany international had to again miss out at the start of the season with ligament damage in his left ankle.
But Marco Reus hasn’t been on the winning side yet this season! And that’s what he’s trying to do. Crucially, he’s healthy and in form ahead of the German Clasico. The 25-year-old showed his class in the goal that he scored during Tuesday night’s 2-0 DFB cup win over FC St. Pauli. Since he made his Bundesliga debut in 2009, he has played in 163 games and has been involved in 123 goals: 67 goals and 56 assists, with Thomas Müller the only player to have been involved in more (128). Marco Reus has everything in his locker to be able to win big titles.
After the picture of Mario Götze with Marco Reus’ shirt was seen by the whole world on 13th July, Reus responded: “Thank you to my bro for the gesture.” That says a lot about the relationship between both players and about the aspiration of the Dortmund players. Next time he’ll be hoping to be there and possibly even be on the podium with his mate. Hopefully, that’ll be made possible in 2015 at the European Championship.
