Out from under the microscope

Posted Saturday, May 25, 2013 by Marca.com

The match at Wembley will be played without a player who would have been wandering between the extremes of good and evil from the moment he stepped onto the turf. Mario Götze, soon to be a Bayern Munich player, will not have the chance to face his upcoming teammates wearing the opposition's shirt. From idol to enemy at Dortmund, the German footballer will miss out on the most important match of the year due to a muscle problem which gets him out of a sticky situation.

The German star will watch the game from the stands and the most impertinent of fans will be wondering which team this skilful attacking midfielder is supporting. A few days ago, Klopp said that there was every reason to believe that he would play in the game, but it turns out that Dortmund will have to face Bayern without its biggest threat up front. It sounds strange to say, but perhaps missing out on this big game is the best thing for Götze.

If he were available, and played a low-key game and Bayern won, the Dortmund fans would hold him responsible for the defeat. They would doubt his honour and professionalism. And if Dortmund conquered the trophy with Götze as the decisive factor, his reception in Munich in a few weeks time might not be so pleasant.

Whatever might have happened, Götze's performance would have been under the microscope – and a critical, untimely and a damaging one at that –, which would have put the German in an impossible position. Never would such a big final have been such an uncomfortable game for a player.