By Fernando Kallas
NEW YORK, June 24 (Reuters) - Mario Goetze stood beside the World Cup trophy again on Wednesday, close enough to see his reflection in the prize he helped Germany to lift in Rio de Janeiro 12 years ago, and close enough for the memories to come rushing back.
At the FIFA Museum in Rockefeller Center, Manhattan, the 2014 World Cup final still felt near: Andre Schuerrle's cross, Goetze's left-footed finish in extra time, Argentina's heartbreak and Lionel Messi's tears at the Maracana.
Goetze was 22 when he helped Germany to become the first European team to win the World Cup in South America. The significance of his winning goal had become clear only with time, the now 34-year-old Eintracht Frankfurt attacking midfielder said.
"I have a replica at home, so sometimes I can look at it. But standing here in front of the real one is obviously different. It's just positive, to see it again," Goetze told Reuters.
"I didn't realise in that moment, or even afterwards, what that goal meant because I was so young. I just played football, enjoyed the moment... Back then it was a goal and I was happy and I could contribute to that win in the moment.
"Now that a few years went by I realise, okay, that was a special moment for the country, for myself, for the national team... And then you view it a bit differently, how special it is. It's just great to be here in this surrounding. For me and my career it was phenomenal."
As he walked around the exhibition, which features memorabilia from each World Cup, including the boots he wore in the final, Goetze reflected on his journey.
"It was my first World Cup and to deliver such a goal was really something. I think I dreamt about it when I was young, and it's just amazing," Goetze said.
PHOTO WITH MESSI
However, Goetze said one incident from that afternoon in Rio de Janeiro made for an uncomfortable memory.
Soon after Germany's celebrations, Goetze posted a picture of himself with Messi, whose own World Cup dream had just been crushed. Asked about the image now, Goetze said the act came from admiration, not gloating, but admitted he should have done it on a different occasion.
"It was not the best timing," he said.
"Maybe that's the worst timing," he continued. "It was the worst timing after the game.
"But in the end, I was just a big fan of him, what he has done for football and everything he's still doing. So I was just a big fan and I really like him as a player."
Messi finally lifted the World Cup with Argentina in 2022 and, now 39, is still shaping the tournament in 2026, leading the Golden Boot race with five goals after a hat-trick in his opening match and a brace in the second.
"It's unbelievable," Goetze said of Messi's longevity.
"I mean, that he can still deliver these things he's doing, I think he's special. In the end, probably he's the only one, maybe with Ronaldo, who can achieve these kinds of things. They play now for 20, even more than 20 years. So it's just crazy."
Goetze said it was too early to make firm predictions about the tournament but he had been enjoying the atmosphere across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
"I think I've seen good games," he said, naming France, Argentina, England and Germany as teams with a good chance of winning.
"In the end, it's the small things," he added. "You have to have a certain amount of luck, of course, to go through and then you have to build that momentum and be there in the right moment to really achieve it. So I think from (the) quarter-finals on it will be interesting."
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; additional reporting by Kurt Hall and Janis Laizans; editing by Clare Fallon)
