TheMoreYouKnow
Registered User
Oh, the hype was there before the WC, but that goal propelled Gotze's expectations and put home on the radar of more people around the footballing world.... I don't think that is too farfetched to say.
You said that he was touted as the next superstar just because of that goal. That's just not how it was. He was called one of Germany's most talented players ever, a once a century type talent, had gushing profiles written in leading publications etc. Here's some examples:
50 Best Soccer Players of 2011
Tim Howard and 10 World-Class Players on Middling Teams
Mario Götze: Germany's next superstar | DW | 10.08.2011
Gotze is our Messi - Beckenbauer
All of that is from 2011. No argument that he was overhyped, but the overhyping came well before that 2014 World Cup. What that goal in the World Cup did was it covered up somewhat for the fact that his career from 2012 onward did not develop the way it was supposed to and it ensures a place for Mario Gotze in the public imagination that his overall career would not quite justify.