Bayern Munich Alumni: What ever happened to...Felix Gtze?
Mario & Felix together in the Bundesliga in 2018. | Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images Super Mario Gtzes younger brother, once in the Bavarian youth ranks, is still plying his trade in the lower divisions in Germany. We all know Super Mario but what about his often overlooked, taller younger brother? Wait, dont rush to your Nintendo sets! Were talking about Mario and Felix Gtze, a pair of erstwhile Bayern Munich players who both still have plenty of football ahead of them. The younger Gtze, now a central defender, came up in the Borussia Dortmund youth ranks, and, like his brother, made a move to Bayern Munich. Felix followed Mario to Bavaria in 2014, when he was just sixteen years of age, and earned his first professional contract in 2017. However, he didnt make a single appearance for the senior team before departing in the summer 2018 transfer window on a free to FC Augsburg. Felix Gtze is still under contract at Augsburg who recently celebrated a landmark two home wins in a row against the German record champions but isnt currently with his parent club. Hed made a smattering of appearances for the senior and second teams at Augsburg, including a game-tying goal against Bayern Munich at one point, before landing at FC Kaiserslautern on loan first for the 2020/21 Rckrunde, and then for the whole of 2021/22. Gtze found success in the 3. Liga with Kaiserslautern, logging 23 appearances with 14 starts in his second year as his team finished third in the league and earned promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. However, he isnt moving up divisions with his old team this season, Gtzes loan assignment brings him back to the third tier with newly-promoted Rot-Weiss Essen, in the Ruhr region of Germany where he was born, where hes just scored in a 1-0 victory over 1. FC Saarbrcken. Via Bulinews, Gtze is eager for his new challenge: The Ruhr region is my home, Gtze was sure to emphasize in his own statement, Ive been following Rot-Weiss Essen with excitement for the past few years. The club, with all its tradition, simply belongs in the third division. I want to get involved right away in establishing the RWE there and Im absolutely thrilled to play at the Hafenstrae. Still just 24, the younger Gtze has a long way to go yet in his footballing career. Who knows if perhaps his path should cross Bayerns once more?
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 10:00 pm