Mario Götze: "Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery helped me a lot"
Borussia Dortmund’s Mario Götze has lauded the human and playing qualities of Bayern Munich wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery.
As well as lining up on opposing sides countless times since Götze made his Bundesliga debut under Jürgen Klopp in 2009, the trio also played together at Bayern during Pep Guardiola’s three-year stint as head coach between 2013-2016.
While Götze, now 26, has since returned to BVB, 34-year-old Robben recently announced that the 2018/19 campaign will be his last in a Bayern shirt.
Ribery, 35, is also heading into the final six months of his existing deal with the club.
"It was fantastic to play with them," Götze told bundesliga.com. "Just as with Arjen, Franck’s attitude in games and training helped him to get to where he is today and to achieve his goals, win the titles, and perform constantly.
"These things don’t happen overnight and they don’t happen if you let your head drop, so these two have put in some great performances for themselves and for the team."
All systems Götze again
In 2012/13, an injured Götze watched from the sidelines as his Dortmund side were undone by Ribery and Robben in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium. He joined the Munich giants later that summer, and went on to lift three Bundesliga titles, two DFB Cups, the FIFA Club World Cup and the UEFA Supercup, before returning to BVB in 2016.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing due to a combination of injury and health issues, but Götze never lost heart. His perseverance has been rewarded in the form of regular football under Lucien Favre, with the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner making 15 competitive appearances during the first half of 2018/19 for current Bundesliga leaders Dortmund.
Robben's resilience - the Dutchman was a losing Champions League finalist in 2011/12 and has endured various injury battles of his own - was particularly inspiring for a player Franz Beckenbauer once hailed as 'Germany's Lionel Messi'.
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'Robben never gave up'
"It’s normal to have good and bad times in life and you just have to get through it and keep going," Götze explained.
"Arjen had proved that you can do this, and that he can get through the bad phases. He was also able to come back stronger, which is a great human quality to have. He never gave up, he always worked hard and developed despite his difficult phases. He saw these phases as a learning process rather than as punishment and this is a fantastic quality in him. He has fought back and won practically everything there is to win."
'I loved playing with Ribery'
Götze’s admiration extends to Robben’s partner-in-crime Ribery. The Frenchman has also had his fair share of injury setbacks down the years, but remains as relevant and influential as ever. He demonstrated as much by scoring three goals in Bayern’s last two outings of the calendar year in wins over RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt.
"He has unbelievable qualities on the pitch, both through the middle and on the wing," Götze said of the former Galatasaray and Marseille winger. "I loved playing with him, and you could learn a lot from him. He’s a really good-natured guy. He helped me a lot in the dressing room."
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