Five facts on World Cup goalscorer Mario Götze

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Who is Mario Götze?

Here are five facts on the only player to score a goal during the 2014 World Cup Final at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday July 13, (Monday in PH).

1. The 22-year-old Götze infuriated Borussia Dortmund fans by moving to arch-rivals Bayern Munich 12 months ago. The 37 million euro deal made him Germany’s most expensive player until Mesut Ozil’s 50 million euro move to Arsenal. He has struggled to get a regular place with Bayern but still scored 10 league goals in 27 games in 2013-14. He joined Dortmund as an eight-year-old and was a key member of the Dortmund team that won the German title in 2010-11 and 2011-12.

2. Götze is the first substitute to score the winning goal in a World Cup final. He has now scored 11 goals in 35 appearances for Die Mannschaft. Gotze made his first appearance for Germany in November 2010, coming on as a substitute in a goalless draw against Sweden. His first goal for Germany was on August 10, 2011 made him the joint youngest scorer for the country at 19 years and 68 days.

3. Götze had a relationship with James Bond girl Eva Green for two years and now is dating top model Ann Kathrin Brommel.

4. Despite his glamor image, Götze insists he is not concerned about looking after his appearance. He told GQ in an interview: “Everyone is a little bit vain. I like to take care of my appearance just like Marco (Reus his close friend). But I don’t concentrate on every detail, it’s not that important to me.”

5. Götze equates being a footballer to a boxer. He said in an interview in December 2012 as he battled against injury: “A boxer needs a lot of fighting spirit, lots of ambition, and will power. And those are the sort of qualities you need as a footballer. Like with me and my injury: You’re on your own, and you have to get back to your original level of fitness. It can take weeks, sometimes even months. So there are lots of parallels with a boxer: Standing in the ring, having to watch out every second that nothing happens to him.” – Rappler.com