Interview: Comparing me with Messi? Sometimes too much: Mario Goetze

Xinhua: Mr. Goetze, you have to excuse us . . . .

Goetze: Why?

Xinhua: We wouldn't normally ask a 23-year-old how he is healthwise?

Goetze: Well at least at the moment, it's a question I don't mind. I can say, I'm feeling fine at the end of my third week training with the team and, much more, I'm looking forward to my first game in the Bundesliga this weekend after being injured for several months.

Xinhua: Your fans around the world will be happy to hear that.

Goetze: (laughing) Me too. I'm not fully match fit but I'm getting closer every day to the point where I can return. And your motivation is growing everyday, or wait, better put, anticipation.

Xinhua: That sounds easy to switch from training to the competitive modus.

Goetze: Yes and no. You have to reanimate the positive feeling for your game and body after an injury, and mine, a torn muscle, was quite serious. But a lot of the feeling returns in training. When you play professional football you have to deal with injuries, bigger or smaller ones, and you do learn, because you have to.

Xinhua: So the gap between training and game is not that big?

Goetze: Oh there is, especially when it comes to finals or particularly important games. But I've gone through a long recovery with a lot of solid training and I feel I'm on a good level.

Xinhua: You wouldn't call it a comeback?

Goetze: Maybe in parts but not in general, even when injured you don't lose everything. There is always a foundation from which you can start.

Xinhua: So even, and now excuse me again please, the man who scored a World Cup winning goal at the age of 21, and has since gained a worldwide reputation of being at least a very special footballer or some kind of wunderkind, has to fight to get back on track?

Goetze: (laughing) Of course, and I am happy about it.

Xinhua: Do you feel like a wunderkind at all or have the impression, everyone expects something special from you on the pitch. Meaning: The World Cup final goal follows you like a shadow and changed not only your life, but the way you are seen after it?

Goetze: Of course it's a very special goal and I'm happy to have scored it, and of course expectations have risen since then.

Xinhua: We have a special reason to ask you that. It seems, and not only to us, as if you have been under special observation since that goal and maybe especially so since you joined Bayern Munich. Former Bayern and Germany keeper Oliver Kahn recently said that in his opinion Mario Goetze does not play to his full ability. He said you would have to decide if you wanted to be more than the man that scored the goal in the final.

Goetze: I respect other peoples' opinions, but to be honest, I have a different one.

Xinhua: Tell me more.

Goetze: There's no big story behind it all. I just do everything possible for the game of football.

Xinhua: Do you feel the judgments made about you are not fair? Ever since you were 18, people have expected very special things from you.

Goetze: What is fair? Sometimes people said that I don't play that often. For example after my first season in Munich, I asked myself, are they right? The statistics however showed that I made the third most appearances of all the squad members.

Xinhua: Have you got a special way of dealing with the high expectations?

Goetze: To a certain extent, it's normal that expectations rise, from the public, fans, teammates and I myself. I generally try to set my own targets, create my own expectations and goals. Meaning I myself expect me to improve my game. That's what I try to concentrate on. And I'm happy with the way I go about things.

Xinhua: After the 2014 World Cup, people all around the world got to know what the German coach Joachim Loew told you when you were sent onto the pitch during the final.

Goetze: (laughing) Oh yes the famous Messi's sentence.

Xinhua: "Come on, show us you're better than Messi" said Loew. And then you scored the tremendous decisive goal not many footballer would be capable of scoring. Did the sentence help you?

Goetze: (laughing) Well it helped in that moment and was excellent motivation. But afterwards some started to compare me and Messi. But, besides his extraordinary class, we play in different positions. Maybe it's normal that something like that starts after a sentence like that, but sometimes it gets too much.

Xinhua: You were talking about goals, looking at this season you could, please excuse me again, repeating the topic of goals in finals, you could score several special goals.

Goetze: (laughing) This is now the last time I excuse you when you want to get excused.

Xinhua: We promise to improve. To go into greater detail: Is there a Champions League final you dream of?

Goetze: There is a lot I want to experience and would call it a goal. Looking at this year there are two possible finals we have in our minds, the Champions League final and the German Cup, and of course the fourth consecutive German title for Bayern Munich and of course the European Championship in summer with the German national team. If you ask me, great months are ahead of us. I'm really looking forward to everything.

Xinhua: The dream of being in a Champions League final must be extremely big, after all you missed the 2013 final due to injury?

Goetze: Absolutely. It's a big dream and something I definitely want to be a part of.

Xinhua: You once said you dream of working with Pep Guardiola. What is you experience with him and what have you learnt?

Goetze: How we play regarding tactics I've never previously experienced. I've learned a lot from every one of my coaches like Juergen Klopp, Joachim Loew or Pep Guardiola. The last two-and-a-half years with Pep Guardiola have given me a lot. He is a man looking for details and is always focused. He for instance tell us a lot about how our opponent plays.

Xinhua: Many coaches say I don`t care about our opponent, we concentrate on our game.

Goetze: I see it as a great help. It helps you to find free spots, call it a football navigation.

Xinhua: In the last winter-break Pep Guardiola said, we are not yet prepared for the big games in the Champions League. Are you now? After all, Juventus Turin is just round the corner.

Goetze: You have to be ready in the moments that count. I can tell you we are. We know Juve will be a hard nut to crack.

Xinhua: Bayern has lost several players to injury, especially defensive ones. How do you rate the chances against Juve?

Goetze: Of course it's not ideal but we have to deal with the situation, and that is important, we are determined to reach the next round. We are confident enough to be positive. We want to make it to the next round and in the end reach the final.

Xinhua: To be eliminated by Turin would be a big disappointment, all of you at Bayern talk about the dream final?

Goetze: You can dream of many things. We are focused on that and that is important too. It helps you to stay concentrated. But predictions in football are hard to make.

Xinhua: Let us talk about the ideal position for you on the pitch. Some say we see the strongest Goetze in the middle, some see you along the flank?

Goetze: I had good games in all the positions you mentioned. Of course every footballer has a position he likes best - in my case you could say it is the space in the middle of the pitch. In Dortmund I was more the "10" , what I like best is the "8", but during a game positions switch inevitably in many situations. So let us stick to the phrase: The space in the middle.

Xinhua: In a few months, Pep Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich to join Manchester City. The team and he still have goals for this season. Is it a problem to know he is leaving soon or don`t you care and say we stick to our goals together?

Goetze: It does play a role. The coach and all of the staff are an important part of our team. You want a sort of happy end for everyone. The main task is to stick together and concentrate on our goals.

Xinhua: Next summer Carlo Ancelotti will follow Pep Guardiola as Bayern coach. What have you heard about him?

Goetze: You read a lot positive things about him, but I personally have no experience of him. You hear he is a great and special coach. I recently spoke with Toni Kroos about Carlo Ancelotti as he knows him from Real Madrid. He was totally positive about him. Fact is: I'm looking forward to working with him in summer. But in the end, you have to wait until you work together with someone to be able to say something about him. Enditem