A year ago, Felix Götze transferred from Rot-Weiss Essen to SC Paderborn. He immediately became an important player there. And now he is taking the next step.

There were no adjustment problems when Felix Götze moved from Rot-Weiss Essen to SC Paderborn last summer. The 27-year-old center back immediately established himself as a regular player for the second division club and missed only three games during the season.

Now Götze is taking the next step: new coach Ralf Kettemann has appointed the defensive specialist as captain – a great honor for the Dortmund native. He replaces Raphael Obermair, who will now serve as deputy captain. The second Götze representative is David Kinsombi. Laurin Curda and Sebastian Klaas complete the Paderborn team council for the new season.

“This puts us in a very good position. We have strong personalities as captains and on the team council who lead the way both on and off the pitch,” Kettemann explained in a statement released by SCP. Paderborn kicks off the new season in just under a week (August 2, 1 p.m.) against Bundesliga relegation side Holstein Kiel.

From 2022, the brother of World Cup final goal scorer Mario Götze was under contract with RWE for two years – initially on loan before signing a permanent deal. Götze came from FC Augsburg at the time and wanted to give his career a new boost in the 3rd division. The plan worked. In two years, Götze played 57 games (four goals). He flourished especially in his second season, when then-coach Christoph Dabrowski moved him from central midfield to central defense.

After Bergeborbecker dropped out of the promotion race shortly before the end of the season, Götze followed the call of second division club Paderborn. “I’m really excited to play soccer here,” Götze explained in an interview with Transfermarkt.de in the spring. “I’m completely happy and can’t imagine anything better than being here right now.”

This is clearly mutual, as his appointment as captain underscores.