da dobrowin： At one point it looked quite likely and then – nothing.
da pinup bet： Jurgen Klopp appeared to be on a bit of a mission when it became clear he wanted fellow countryman, Mario Gotze, to join him at Liverpool.
The fans must have been beside themselves with anticipation of a World Cup winner wearing the hallowed red shirt of the Merseyside club.
But then as quickly as it seemed entirely possible, so the story was surrounded in mystery, as the player and his advisers went back and forth in their decision-making. Many rumours, and you can take them for what they are, suggested a return to Borussia Dortmund, some that Gotze would stay at Bayern Munich and a dwindling number tried to keep the fires alive for the Anfield club.
With Germany and the player in France for the EUROs, nothing will happen now until July or August and even then, the influential playmaker seems almost certain to stay in the comfort zone of the Bundesliga.
Although the 24-year-old Bayern midfielder has not had the best of games in either clash against Ukraine or Poland, he is still a quality player and one that would rejuvenate Anfield for sure.
Although Gotze is a versatile attacking midfielder, his favoured position is that of a ‘No.10’, but he can also be used as a striker or winger. Gotze is considered to be one of the best young players, possessing speed, technique, dribbling skills and exceptional pla-making capabilities. In 2010, the German Football Association’s then technical director, Matthias Sammer, described Gotze as “one of the best talents Germany has ever had.”
At Dortmund under Klopp, Gotze often played different roles in the team’s 4–2–3–1 formation, but during the 2012/13 season, Klopp moved Gotze to a central attacking midfield role. For Germany, Gotze’s talent is sometimes used by German coach Joachim Low in the ‘false 9’ position
German football legend Franz Beckenbauer described Gotze as “the German Messi” for his speed and style of play.
He played for Dortmund, winning the Bundesliga title in 2010/11 and the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double in 2011/12, and was a member of the team which reached the 2013 Champions League Final. In April 2013, a €37m bid from Bayern Munich triggered a release clause in Gotze’s contract, taking him to the Allianz Arena.
The player has known substantial domestic success and was first selected for Die Mannschaft in 2010, at the age of 18. He was included in the squad for EURO 2012 and, two years later, scored the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup Final.
In essence, it is little wonder that Klopp wants a reunion with the young player that he helped to encourage and nurture at Dortmund.
However, Gotze seems to have distanced himself from the rumours saying to the German press: “For me it is important to play because that is when I am happy,” he said. “What comes will come. Everything else will come by itself and there’s no need to talk about that.
“I look forward to the new season in Munich and will do everything possible to be in top shape for my first training session under Carlo Ancelotti.”
Oddly enough for such a talent, his game time has been diminished with the fit again Franck Ribery back in the first-team and the emergence of French international, Kingsley Coman. The recent signing of Renato Sanches also demonstrates a younger recruitment policy and the acquisition of players that can play in Gotze’s positions.
That Gotze’s Bayern deal has been allowed to run to the final 12 months of a four-year term, while both Robert Lewandowski and David Alaba have recently been handed extensions, seems to say it all.
The player may put space between mere speculation, he may have spoken with Ancelotti, but Bayern don’t seem bothered whether he stays or goes.
Therefore, at this crossroads in his playing career, the decision of what next seems to rest on Gotze’s shoulders. If he stays, he runs the risk of little game time and fierce competition for his place, whereas a move a way could reinvigorate a player that needs to be playing week in and week out.
In which case, it does makes sense to link up with Klopp and play in the best league in Europe where his talents will shine and ultimately, where he will feel wanted.
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