World Cup Final: How baby-faced assassin Mario Goetze rose to the top
Germany's pint-sized playmaker has written his name in the history books aged just 22
Pint-sized midfielder Mario Goetze wrote himself into German folklore by scoring the winning goal in Sunday’s World Cup final that earned his country’s fourth world title.
The baby-faced 22-year-old’s superb chest and volley from an Andre Schuerrle cross on 113 minutes sealed Germany’s 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium.
Stunning Mario Goetze volley wins title for Germany in extra time
Goetze came on for veteran striker Miroslav Klose just before the start of extra-time and his 11th goal for Germany will go down in the history books as he made his 35th appearance for his country.
He picked up the man-of-the-match award in Rio as Germany became the first European side to win a World Cup in the Americas at the eighth attempt.
Having won two Bundesliga titles with Borussia Dortmund, the club he joined as an eight-year-old, Goetze became public-enemy number one with Borussia fans in April 2013 when he actioned a 37 million euro clause in his contract to sign for Bayern Munich.
