Mario Götze laughs, hits and does magic with the ball like in the best of times.
The German World Cup hero from 2014 has found the joy of football away from the hustle and bustle of BVB and Bayern.
His move from Germany to the Dutch Eredivisie, which was initially seen as a step back, has long since proven to be a big step forward for the 29-year-old.
With PSV Eindhoven, Götze is about to return to the big international stage.
Visibly relaxed and with a large white pillow under his arm, the key player in coach Roger Schmidt's team started the journey to the playoff first leg in the Champions League qualification at Benfica Lisbon.
Before the game this Wednesday (9 p.m. at DAZN) there was also positive news from his brother Felix Götze.
The midfielder of 1. FC Kaiserslautern was on the mend after a hairline crack in his skull and a stay in the intensive care unit of a Berlin hospital.
With three goals in four qualifying games, Mario Götze has played a major role in PSV qualifying for the group stage of the premier class for the first time since 2018.
How good Götze is, he recently showed in the Dutch Supercup against champions Ajax Amsterdam.
"Meet or juggle?"
With a dream goal, Götze ensured the 4-0 final score in the duel with the arch-rival and showed his entire footballing class with a technical little piece in midfield. “Meet or juggle? What do you prefer? “, Götze asked his followers on Instagram with a winking emoji. In the social network, the gifted offensive player recently appeared in the club environment and gave small insights into family life with his son. He can almost always be seen smiling in the pictures and videos.
After difficult years at FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Götze, then without a club, moved to Eindhoven in October last year.
The fact that he found his ease and fun there is also largely due to coach Schmidt.
The former coach of Bayer Leverkusen trusts Götze and gives the exceptional footballer the support he needs.
In addition, Götze claims to benefit from a new and more central role in Schmidt's system in this still young season.
“The new position benefits me.
I can influence the game more in the center and thus contribute my part to our success, ”said Götze of“ Sport Bild ”.
The latest developments in the decisive 1-0 goal scorer in the World Cup final seven years ago against Argentina have not gone unnoticed by the national coach. He is happy about Götze's move to Eindhoven and that he “got back on track and is performing,” said Hansi Flick last. Götze made his last game for the national team in November 2017.