Ahead of the FIFA World Cup final, Rio hero Mario Gotze looked back at a special experience he had with Messi. After winning the 2014 final, he asked the Argentine for a photo; in the locker room corridor, Gotze, with a gold medal around his neck, stood beside his idol, whom he had just denied a championship dream with an extra-time goal.

Gotze told The Athletic: "Maybe the timing wasn't right. I'm not sure. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him, but it happened. I said at the time: 'Well, he's my idol, he's so strong, he's the best player in the world.' I think he was calm, but he was certainly disappointed – they lost that game."

At 9 PM CET (21:00 Beijing time) on Sunday, Messi will be vying for his second individual FIFA World Cup title against Spain. Despite losing to Germany that year, Messi's ability to maintain such form at 39 years old makes Gotze marvel, calling it "incredible." He stated that Messi is "one of a kind. Look at how his career has developed step by step, look at everything he has achieved, his performances, his goals."

Gotze also understands the mood of players before a FIFA World Cup final. He said players will be nervous, "dreaming of scoring goals, and at the same time afraid of making decisive mistakes." The 34-year-old said: "People are always torn between these emotions."

Gotze also admitted that the golden goal at the Maracana "greatly" changed his life. "I was very young then, and it changed a lot: attention, expectations, almost everything," he said. "You feel like you're on the right track, making progress, winning championships, growing in the best way." He thought at the time that this should be the norm. "But it's not easy to maintain such standards over the next 10 years. It took me time to understand that things are not always like that."

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