Born in Weilheim in Oberbayern, Bavaria, West Germany, Görlitz began his professional career with TSV 1860 München, by then in the Bundesliga; his first match came on 10 February 2002, in a 1–2 loss at 1. FC Nürnberg, but he could only amass a further four league games in his first two seasons combined. In the 2003–04 season, Görlitz made the transition to defender, and appeared in 32 matches for TSV, scoring his first professional goal on 27 March 2004, at Eintracht Frankfurt, through a header, as his side was finally relegated, after ranking 17th. Görlitz signed with TSV neighbours FC Bayern Munich in the 2004 summer. He even started some matches in the new season but, following an injury in a UEFA Champions League contest against Juventus FC, on 3 November, spent almost two years in the sidelines. In the summer of 2007, it was announced that Görlitz would join newly promoted Karlsruher SC, on loan for the 2007–08 season. The player only missed three league matches and his club finished 11th, well clear from relegation. On 9 May 2008, the loan deal was extended for another season. Following his second year, in which he featured significantly less, also suffering another relegation, Görlitz returned to Bayern, to play through the final year in his contract. For the third consecutive season at the club, he was often demoted to the reserve squad. On 4 March 2014, Görlitz signed a contract with the San Jose Earthquakes of Major League Soccer. After an injury limited his season to three league matches, Görlitz was released by San Jose at the end of their 2014 season.
International career
Shortly after signing for Bayern, Görlitz made his debut for the Germany national team, appearing in the last five minutes of the 1–1 friendly with Brazil, on 8 September 2004; the following month, he assisted veteran Thomas Brdarić as the striker closed the score at 2–0, in another exhibition game, this time against Iran. These two caps within a month were his only appearances in the German elite squad until the end of his career.
