“When I had journeyed half of our life’s way, I found myself within a shadowed forest, for I had lost the path that does not stray.” Dante Alighieri was one of the greatest poets ever to live, and his “Divine Comedy” still remains one of the most read books of all time. The above quote, taken from it, is pretty much applicable to the story which we’re about to delve into.

Our story begins in Bayern, like all good things do, on a warm spring morning in 1992. It goes on for a little over 7 years, when our protagonist moves north given his parents’ pursue of a better life, and therein begins the building of his Cocoon. Through the better part of 10 years, this young German boy wrapped string upon string of silk, developing within his carapace, until he emerged of his black and yellow cocoon in 2009.

The kid’s name is Mario Götze. The cocoon, however, wasn’t his only one.

There’s an old folk saying in Germany: “Ein guter Nachbar ist besser als ein Bruder in der Fremde.” – a good neighbour is better than a Brother in the distance. So did our silkworm emerge from his cocoon surrounded by neighbours who helped him thrive and become one of the best in his field.

But a neighbour is not a brother, and alas one cannot deny his birthplace. Götze’s brothers came looking for him, agreeing to whatever price the bumblebee neighbours had set on him in order to bring him back to his own. Mario accepted this and decided to return to his rightful place, among his brothers, with the colours he was born under.

The black-and-yellow cocoon wasn’t his only one. A much larger, red tinged shell was weaven around the allegedly “blossomed” Götze.

The red cocoon bursts open on July 1st, 2013.

(GarciLP is a fan of Bayern München and a member of BayernZone forum)

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