Goretzka to give Germany backbone
HAVING used last year's Covid-19 lockdown to pack muscle onto his frame, Leon Goretzka is set to bulk up Germany's midfield against England in today's blockbuster last-16 clash at Euro 2020.
Germany coach Joachim Loew is under pressure to shake things up in the middle of the park for the knockout stage after neither Toni Kroos nor Ilkay Gundogan impressed in Wednesday's nail-biting 2-2 draw with Hungary.
Bayern Munich star Goretzka has been limited to cameo roles at this European Championship after recovering from a torn thigh in May, yet he has still made an impact. He came within a whisker of scoring in the 4-2 drubbing of Portugal as a second-half substitute, then equalised with a thunderbolt strike against Hungary.
“We have no doubts now and are full of confidence,” Goretzka told German TV after the final whistle in a warning to England.
Loew was certainly impressed with his “great” performance against Hungary. “He brought in a lot of pace and made deep runs”, the coach said.
After Bundesliga matches were halted in March 2020, as Germany went into lockdown due to Covid-19, Goretzka returned from the two-anda-half-month break noticeably much more muscular.
He says bulking up paid dividends. “I can safely say that since I have had these muscles, I go into the games with a different feeling,” he told the Deutsche Bahn magazine. “It literally made me stronger, you could call it a protective coat.”
Off the field, the 26-year-old has shown the same heart he puts into tackles by throwing himself behind good causes. Last year, Goretzka and Bayern teammate Joshua Kimmich donated a total of R17-million to found the WeKickCorona campaign and help charities during the pandemic. He also uses his profile to fight racism and xenophobia, describing nationalist right-wing party AfD as “Germany's shame”.
After scoring Germany's equaliser last Wednesday, Goretzka made a heart shape with his hands during his goal celebration in response to taunts from Hungary fans. The game was overshadowed beforehand after Uefa refused to allow Munich to light up the Allianz Arena in the rainbow colours in what would have been a show of solidarity towards Hungary's LGBTQ community.
Goretzka says the Germany team “wants to counter racism and homophobia with diversity”.