DFB juniors
World Cup hero Götze writes letter to U17: “I believe in you”
Mario Goetze (r) keeps his fingers crossed for the U17s in the World Cup final against France. photo
© Antonio Lacerda/EPA/dpa
The U17 footballers are reaching for World Cup gold. Rio world champion Götze writes an emotional letter and encourages the DFB youngsters.
Rio world champion Mario Götze believes that the German U17 footballers will win the World Cup and encouraged them one day before the final against France.
“Now, shortly before the final, I would like to say to you: I believe in you. You can do it! Reward yourself,” wrote the winning goalscorer in the 2014 World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro in a letter on skysport.de. “Fight for each other. Run for each other. And help each other. If the person next to you makes a mistake, then make the most of it. That’s how you do it, as a team. And then it will work. I will follow your game, we don’t play in Augsburg until Sunday.” , added the 31-year-old midfielder from Eintracht Frankfurt.
“Enjoy the moment”
DFB coach Christian Wück’s team will face France in Surakarta, Indonesia, as they did in the European Championship final they won six months ago. Winning the World Cup would be a first for Germany. If the DFB youth team wins, they would also be the first team to win the U17 European Championships and U17 World Cup in the same year.
Götze won the home European Championship title with the U17s in 2009 before becoming a World Cup hero in Brazil nine years ago. The father of two has a lot of confidence in the current generation. “It’s the beginning and I’m convinced that many boys from our U17 have a great future ahead of them. But only if they understand that this tournament is the beginning. It’s a reward for sacrifice and passion, for hard work. Above all, it’s an incentive. Enjoy the moment, realize what it takes to celebrate success. And then stick with it,” wrote Götze.
Use every minute
The young footballers should use every minute given to them. Every moment can change everything. “Before the 2014 final, I was sad that I wasn’t one of those that Jogi Löw trusted from the start. But look at my face, how I beamed after the 113th minute,” Götze remembered.
The final on Saturday is a new edition of the European Championship final in Budapest in June: the DFB team won the title 5-4 after penalties. The French have only conceded one goal in their six games so far at the World Cup tournament.
Götze no longer has many memories of his U17 European Championship triumph. But: “What I still know: the victory was good for self-confidence. It triggered a greed to want to feel this moment of joy again and again. This title made me want more.”