Leon Goretzka

At 29 years old, Leon Goretzka has this physical status:

Leon Christoph Goretzka (born 6 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Bayern Munich and the German national team.

Personal life

Goretzka was born in Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. He completed his Abitur and graduated from the Alice-Salomon-Berufskolleg (Alice-Salomon-Vocational School) in Bochum. Konrad's father, Opel's father, is a computer engineer and electrical engineer. Katharina's mother, Katharina, was a presbyter in Altenbochum-Laer and worked as a business manager in several companies in Bochum.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Goretzka and his Bayern Munich colleague Joshua Kimmich launched "We Kick Corona" online to support charitable, socioeconomic, or medical organizations.

Goretzka has worked to condemn hate crime, visiting the Dachau Holocaust memorial and meeting Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlander. He is a critic of Germany's far-right political party Alternative, calling them a "disgrace for Germany" and claiming that "when a party is aided and led by Holocaust revisionists and Corona deniers, they are unmasking themselves."

Goretzka started his real estate business, LivinCG inmobilien GMBH, which is managed by his girlfriend, in addition to football.

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Club career

Goretzka began his career with Werner SV 06 Bochum in 1999. He spent two years with the WSV before heading to VfL Bochum in 2001.

Goretzka was honoured with the 2012 Under-17 Fritz Walter Medal in gold on July 30. He made his Bochum debut in August 2012 on August 4th. In the rewirpowerSTADION of Germany, the Bundesliga will face Dynamo Dresden.

Goretzka had an amazing 2012–13 season at Bochum and was their standout performer as Bochum barely escaped relegation from the top of the table. Bundesliga is a sport in Germany. Goretzka was linked to many major clubs around Europe, including Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Real Madrid during the season. According to reports, Matthias Sammer, Bayern's then sports director, met with Goretzka to try to convince him of joining Bayern in the summer of 2013.

Schalke 04 reported the transfer of Goretzka from Bochum on June 30. He has been in possession of a five-year contract as of June 30, 2018. The transfer fee was estimated to be €3.250 million.

Goretzka had a good first season in 2013, scoring five goals in 32 appearances in all competitions. In the second half of the season, he was a regular starter in the Bundesliga and helped Schalke finish in third place, behind champions Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Goretzka was selected for the Germany national team's 30-man preliminary squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil at the end of the season. He made his debut in a friendly match against Poland prior to the World Cup.

Goretzka was limited to only 11 games in all competitions during the 2014–15 season due to a thigh injury. On Matchday 24 against TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, he recovered from the injury. During the season, Goretzka appeared in just ten Bundesliga games. Schalke had a rough season and finished in sixth place in the Bundesliga.

Goretzka scored two goals in 34 appearances in all competitions during the 2015-2016 season. He was back to full fitness at the start of the season, but he suffered from several injuries throughout the season. During the season, Goretzka was also diagnosed with an inflammatory bowel disease, and "I was diagnosed with chronic bowel inflammation, which had been having a negative effect on my recovery." "I completely changed what I eat by removing gluten, cow's milk, pork, and nuts," Goretzka said. As a result, I have less frequent problems with my health and can return from a game much faster.

Goretzka played in a career-high 41 games in all competitions during the 2016-17 season, scoring eight goals in each match. Goretzka's best season to date was this season, as he flourished in a more challenging role. Goretzka sustained a concussion and sustained a double fractured of his jaw while playing against Ajax in the Europa League on April 20th. He continued and played almost the entire match until he was called off in the 84th minute. Schalke finished in 10th place in the Bundesliga and did not qualify for European destinations.

Goretzka played in 29 games in all leagues and scored four goals during the 2017-18 season. Since arriving at Schalke in 2013, this was his first season without European football. He had trouble with stress responses in his lower leg, which kept him out of action for more than two months. For the first time since the 2014–15 season, Goretzka helped Schalke finish second behind champions Bayern Munich in second place. In a match against Schalke's bitter rivals, Borussia Dortmund, played in his 100th Bundesliga game on Saturday. Goretzka revealed on January 19th that he will leave Schalke in the summer of 2018 and join rivals Bayern Munich. His decision did not go down well with the Schalke supporters and board. Clemens Tönnies, Schalke's control board chairman, expressed his first reaction to Goretzka's decision on a football talk show. "I was shocked that you shouldn't wear the jersey of Schalke anymore," Tönnies said. If Goretzka's decision has a negative influence on the team, Tönnies said he could be compelled to remain in the stands.

Goretzka officially joined Bayern on July 1st by signing a four-year deal until June 2022. In the DFL Super Cup, he came on for Thomas Müller in the 64th minute on August 12, 2018. This was Goretzka's first appearance for Bayern. In a 3–0 away victory over VfB Stuttgart on September 1, he scored his first goal for the club. In a 3–1 victory over Hoffenheim in January 19, he scored twice in his first brace in the Bundesliga, scoring twice. Goretzka scored an own goal in a Bundesliga game after 13 seconds on February 15, 2019; no Bayern player had even touched the ball.

Goretzka defeated Dortmund by 78 points in his first Bundesliga title on May 18th. Bayern defeated RB Leipzig 3–0 in the 2019 DFB-Pokal Final a week later, winning his first DFB-Pokal. He did not appear in the match because he was injured.

Goretzka scored his first Champions League goal against Red Star Belgrade on November 26, 2019 at 6–0 away. He was instrumental in Bayern's treble victory under Hansi Flick. He appeared in all of the games, as well as the Champions League tournament, with Joshua Kimmich in a midfield pairing. Goretzka played in a box-to-box midfielder role next to Thiago, after Benjamin Pavard was injured and Kimmich was asked to play as a right-back.

Goretzka scored a goal in a 2–1 victory over Sevilla on September 24, 2020, after extra time in the 2020 UEFA Super Cup. He missed the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarter-finals in April 2021 due to muscle weakness. He did win his third straight Bundesliga title last season, but not this season.

Goretzka was given the number 8 shirt that had been unoccupied by Javi Martnez early this season. Goretzka won the 2021 DFL-Super Cup with Bayern on August 17th, 2021, despite being in complete 90 minutes. Bayern announced on September 16 that Goretzka had signed a new deal, keeping him at the club until 2026.

In a 4–2 away victory over Viktoria Plze in which Bayern gained qualification to the Champions League knockout phase, he scored a brace on October 12, 2022.

International career

Goretzka made his Germany national U-16 football team debut in a friendly against Northern Ireland on October 15, 2010. In the 3–2 victory, he scored. He made his Germany national U-17 football team debut against Turkey on August 24, 2011 in a 4–0 win. He captained the Germany national U-17 football team in Slovenia at the 2012 European Under-17 Championship in Slovenia in May 2012 and guided the German U-17 team all the way to the final against the Netherlands. Goretzka scored his first goal of the game in the final, bringing the scoreline to 1–1. The Netherlands won the subsequent penalty shootout. He made his debut for Germany's national U-21 football team under Horst Hrubesch on August 8th in a 0–0 draw against France in which he had a spectacular match.

Goretzka was approached by the Polish national team but declined because he is unaware of any Polish roots.

Goretzka was selected by Germany's boss, Joachim Löw, in the 30-men preliminary squad of the German national team for the 2014 FIFA World Cup on May 8. He made his debut against Poland on May 13th, 2014. Goretzka had suffered a muscle injury in his match against Poland in which he was expelled from the team's preparatory training camp and final squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Goretzka was selected in Germany's squad for the Confederations Cup in Russia in May 2017. In Germany's first match for the tournament, he scored his first goal for the country in a 3–2 victory over Australia on June 20th. In the semi-finals, Goretzka scored two goals against Mexico. Goretzka had a top scorer with Timo Werner and Lars Stindl in the competition, earning three goals. In the final in Saint Petersburg, the German national team won the competition, defeating Chile.

Goretzka was selected in Germany's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup on June 4, 2018. He made his World Cup debut in a 2–0 loss to South Korea on June 27th, defeating his team from the World Cup for the first time since 1938. He was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 on May 1921. In the last group match, a 2–2 draw against Hungary that saved Germany from elimination, he scored a goal.

Goretzka, a Schalke teammate, was selected in the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In Germany's first match against Mexico, he captained the team but returned to Gelsenkirchen after suffering a shoulder injury.

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