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Borussia Dortmund: Mario Götze faces make or break year

By Josh Brodbine

VIENNA, AUSTRIA - JULY 13: Mario Goetze of Dortmund gestures during the friendly match between Austria Wien and Borussia Dortmund at Generali Arena on July 13, 2018 in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
VIENNA, AUSTRIA - JULY 13: Mario Goetze of Dortmund gestures during the friendly match between Austria Wien and Borussia Dortmund at Generali Arena on July 13, 2018 in Vienna, Austria. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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What the 2018-19 season should mean to Mario Götze

A year ago I wrote a piece on the revival of Mario Götze’s career. It covered his highs, his lows, and everything in between. Not much has changed as the former world champion’s life continues to be an absolute rollercoaster. He’s captivated the world as a teenager, betrayed his childhood club, won his country the World Cup, and got diagnosed with a potentially career-ending metabolic illness, and has ultimately returned home. The wild ride continued last season as Borussia Dortmund crashed and burned. This ultimately led to Mario failing to earn a spot on Die Manschafft for the World Cup. This of course was largely due to Mario becoming a casualty of the pragmatic approach Peter Stöger decided to use. The overly defensive tactics did not suit Mario well and ultimately Joachim Löw did not have enough confidence in the midfielder. The upcoming season presents itself with not only a challenge but an opportunity for the 26-year-old. Götze knows his career is at a crossroads and the 2018-19 season will surely prove be a defining one.

No need to sugar coat it, Dortmund was atrocious last season under both managers, Peter Bosz and Peter Stöger.  With the assurance of appointing a manager not named Peter for the 2018-19 season, Mario should approach the new year with confidence, because he will need it. Club CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke understands just what this season means for the former Golden Boy.

“I think that Mario is a smart lad,” said Watzke told Bild. “He knows what’s at stake and he must know this will be very crucial season for him.”

“I think that [new coach Lucien] Favre now will try to massively help him, but Mario must take care of the rest. It’s not that he does not want it. He’s very professional. He does everything — and still you just get the impression that something is missing, and only the player can solve this in cooperation with the coach.”

Mario Gotze’s number of minutes on the pitch decreased as the season progressed (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
Mario Gotze’s number of minutes on the pitch decreased as the season progressed (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /

But what is missing?

There is no denying that once upon a time, Mario Götze was an absolute gem on the field. As a teenager he could dance around the field making his opposition look foolish while single-handedly winning games. While Götze showed fleeting moments of this magic last season, the consistency is still not there.

With Borussia Dortmund currently in a rebuilding phase, they will need to rely heavily upon their seasoned vets if they have any hopes of success. Guys like Marco Reus, Łukasz Piszczek, and of course Mario Götze, will need to step up once again. Key players in the group of guys that brought Dortmund to the Champions League final in 2013 will need to be strong now once again more than ever. Failure to do so can result in Dortmund falling behind teams like RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga hierarchy.

If Dortmund are to find success this season, Mario must once again find that inner magic that once captivated the world. Super Mario needs to reemerge as an elite influencer and find ways to win his team games.

Next: Borussia Dortmund's ideal XI for next season

This is undoubtedly an uphill task, especially with his metabolic disorder. However, as I said a year ago and still say today, I believe in Mario Götze and I believe in this team. Heja BVB!

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