Former Bayern Munich manager Felix Magath has suggested that Mario Gotze did not fully appreciate the magnitude of his move from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern Munich and believes that the World Cup winner is still failing to replicate his form before his transfer.
The German international joined Bayern in July 2013 for a fee of €37m (£27m) but has been unable to secure a regular starting spot for the Bavarian club under Pep Guardiola.
Magath says that although the 23-year-old is now starting to settle at the club, he is still not showing the quality he displayed on a regular basis at Dortmund because he took his move to the German champions too lightly.
"In my opinion, Gotze underestimated his move from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern," the 62-year-old told Bild. "Bayern are a different club to Dortmund, there are a lot of players who have struggled to make the grade at Bayern.
"I think that it was extra difficult for Gotze because he was the star man at Dortmund, but was only one of many stars at Bayern. He scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, but he was not anything special in the other games.
"He is still is not anything like the dominant player he was at BVB. But I get the feeling that he is now getting used to the situation at Bayern and is on his way to getting back to his usual best."
Gotze, who made his 100th appearance for Bayern in the 3-0 win over Darmstadt at the weekend, has scored twice in eight appearances at club level so far this season.
Tom Nightingale
