'He was Messi-like' - Goal.com World Player of the Week Mario Gotze

'He was Messi-like' - Goal.com World Player of the Week Mario Gotze

Nov 26, 2012 12:00:00 PM

World Player of the Week

Mario Gotze
AGE	20
POSITION	Midfielder
FOR	Borussia Dortmund
WEEK IN NUMBERS
APPS (GOALS SCORED)	2 (1)
TIME ON PITCH	153
PREVIOUS WINS	0

Ajax
Mainz

1-4
1-2

Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund

Mario Gotze was in scintillating form this week as Borussia Dortmund laid down a marker both in the Bundesliga and the Champions League, and took his personal tally to two goals and seven assists in his last five appearances.

The 20-year-old was simply too hot to handle for Ajax on Wednesday, setting up three goals for the rampant German champions, while notching a strike of his own.

On Saturday, the Germany starlet was pivotal again as his side maintained their hopes of clinching a third consecutive Bundelisga title, picking out Robert Lewandowski with a delightful pass for the game's decisive goal.

@GeoffKm on says: "#WPOTW should easily go to Mario Gotze, his performance against Ajax was Messi-like, plus it confirmed first place in group D!"

Goal.com Germany expert Christian Ehrhardt was equally impressed with Gotze's past week: "Right before the match against Ajax, Gotze played 'Hacky-Sack' with his chewing-gum and this shows the coolness of this young and talented player. He spit out his gum, kicked it into the air four times and caught it with his mouth again (see above video).

"When he was sidelined with his injury a lot of critics predicted some sort of decline in his career. But he responded and as you can see on the pitch and in this video, he got his laughter back, and he's playing with a lot of fun!"

Congratulations to Mario Gotze, Goal.com's 184th World Player of the Week winner!

The Shortlist

John Bocco - Tanzania Goal.com's Dennis Mabuka: "Popularly compared to Emmanuel Adebayor in Tanzania, he has a great partnership with Morisho Ngassa."
Andres Iniesta - Barcelona @CampNouboY: "Simply unbelievable. Take a bow!" Goal.com's Ben Hayward: "The midfielder even outshone Lionel Messi against Levante, which is just about the highest praise a player can receive at the moment."
Felipe Melo - Galatasaray @ardaeroll "How many times can you see a midfielder saving a penalty???" Goal.com's Oguz Ozturk: "After Melo palmed Turkdogan’s shot to safety, he crawled along the floor, pulling a silly face to celebrate as his team-mates rushed to congratulate him."
Philippe Mexes - AC Milan @Mosbah98 on Twitter: "Mexes. How can we forget his overhead-kick goal??" Goal.com's Kris Voakes: "Massimiliano Allegri said he was very proud of his players in what was a very big week, and he can have been no more proud with anyone than he was Mexes."

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