REPLACING the World Cup’s record goal-scorer seems challenging — and that too in a World Cup final.

But Mario Goetze did so with ease at the biggest stage of them all.

Coming on for Miroslav Klose in the 88th minute and with extra-time looming in the final against Argentina at the Maracana Stadium, the 22-year-old German Wunderkind wasn’t at all awed by the grandeur of Rio de Janeiro’s iconic football venue.

Nor was he unfazed by the large number of Argentine fans in the 74,000 capacity arena neither did he suffer any stage fright.

Some 25 minutes after coming on, the diminutive Bayern Munich midfielder ran inside the box, picked up by Andre Schuerrle.

Schuerrle’s cross was high, Goetze had to control it with his chest.

Once he’d killed the speed of the cross, Goetze let the ball arrive on his left foot before he un­leashed a rifling shot which went past Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero before he could reach and into the side netting from the acutest of angles before wheeling off in celebration.

It was a strike worthy of winning any final.

That stunned the Argentines and seven minutes later Germany were world champions for a fourth time in their history.

For Goetze, it was a dream. For his coach Joachim Loew, it proved to be a masterstroke.

“Goetze is a miracle boy, a boy wonder who can play any position,” Loew admitted in his post-match press conference. “He has superior technical quality. I knew he could be decisive in the match. It was a great decider today.”

The magical strike also meant that Germany became the first European side to win the World Cup in the Americas.

More importantly for Goetze, it was a moment of joy that came after a difficult season at Bayern Munich, who he joined from Borussia Dortmund in 2013.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Gotze said. “I don’t know how to describe it: you just shoot, score and then you don’t know what is happening. A dream became a reality because it is a ‘dream come true’.

“I am more than happy – very proud of the team and what happened here in Brazil. It is absolutely sensational.”

Goetze left his boyhood club Dortmund for arch-rivals Bayern last year in a $54.42 million transfer that rocked German football.

He struggled to hold down a place in his first season and Bayern and admitted it had been a testing time for him.

“It hasn’t been a simple year for me or a simple tournament. I owe a lot to my family and my girlfriend, who always believed in me,” he said.

“It’s not been simple, but I am simply happy to be here. I kept on training and working hard, and we deserved this trophy.”

How times change. Goetze was an unused substitute in Germany’s 7-1 mauling of Brazil in the semi-finals.

He was nowhere to be seen during their 4-0 thrashing of Portugal in their opening group game before scoring Germany’s opening goal with a mistimed kick against Ghana in their 2-2 draw.

He was a late entrant in their final group game against the US before playing only the first half of Germany’s last-16 clash with Algeria.

A late substitute in Germany’s quarter-final win over France, Goetze’s morale must’ve been down before the final.

So how did Loew inspire him?

“I said, ‘Ok show to the world that you are better than [Lionel] Messi and that you can decide the World Cup’,” Loew said and Goetze proved his potential.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2014