Mario Götze was in a hurry. Following the Tuesday training session, the FC Bayern World Cup winner jumped into his car, drove to the airport and boarded a small plane to Hanover. At the invitation of Deutsche Telekom, Götze (and Claudio Pizarro) paid a short visit to CeBit, the world’s biggest information technology trade fair.
fcbayern.de accompanied the Germany international and interviewed him about his first computer games, his Bundesliga half century and the forthcoming Champions League draw.
Interview: Mario Götze
fcbayern.de: Hello, Mario! Do you still remember your first computer?
Götze: (thinks) “Not really. But I know I played computer games with my big brother from time to time. I was about ten years old then. Age of Empires (a real time strategy game) was one of my first games. I had a Game Boy before that.”
fcbayern.de: We asked the question because you’re a guest at CeBit at the invitation of Deutsche Telekom. A welcome change?
Götze: “It’s definitely something different, especially for a professional footballer. You can get away. And the trade fair is huge. It’s really impressive.”
fcbayern.de: You grew up with the internet. Say you weren’t able to access it for four weeks: What would you miss most?
Götze: “Contact with friends. The chance to communicate with each other. To learn about anything you want via search engines. Sheer luxury. I use the internet to find out all the important information from the leagues and watch the goals. It’s a good medium.”
fcbayern.de: Hand on heart: Do you ever search for Mario Götze?
Götze: Now and then (he laughs). I have a look if I think there might be something interesting about me. That doesn’t happen very often. I’m not following sports reports that closely at the moment.”
fcbayern.de: You’ve played 50 Bundesliga games for FC Bayern. Which one do you remember best?
Götze: “My first match for FC Bayern at Dortmund. But that was a long time ago so I don’t think about it as much anymore. It’s just a little memory – nothing more. There’s always new challenges. That’s what I concentrate on.”
fcbayern.de: You were involved in 32 goals in those 50 games. A good record?
Götze: “It’s not bad but there’s room for improvement (laughs).”
fcbayern.de: You seem to have settled in now...
Götze: “Of course! So I should after eighteen months (laughs). A lot was new to me in the beginning: The environment, the routines, a lot of the players: I had to learn everything from scratch. Then I had my injury early on. But I was settled in properly after the first year.”
fcbayern.de: Are you happy with the way things are going at the moment?
Götze: “Very much so. Last season was brilliant. And we’re in a very good position again this season. We’re in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the DFB Cup as well as top of the Bundesliga. We’re definitely on the right track.”
fcbayern.de: How often do you think about your goal in the World Cup Final?
Götze: “Not very often. The memories come flooding back when people ask me. It was an incredible experience. There’s probably no better experience for a footballer. I’m paid even more attention now but not much has changed otherwise. Except for me being called World Cup winner from time to time (laughs).”
fcbayern.de: Has your position in the squad changed?
Götze: “If you get games and perform well it follows automatically. That earns you the respect of your team-mates. That’s how it goes.”
fcbayern.de: You only need one goal to get to your personal record for a season of 10 goals. How much do you think about targets like that?
Götze: “Not much at all. You always have to take into account how much you’ve played, whether you’ve been injured or not and the overall situation. That means it difficult to make comparisons like that.”
fcbayern.de: The Champions League quarter-final could be tricky. What are your thoughts ahead of the draw on Friday?
Götze: “We can’t influence it so we’ll just take it as it comes. Every game is all or nothing by the quarter-finals at the latest. So it doesn’t really matter who we’re drawn against.”
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