7 THINGS ON MARIO GOMEZ
German striker Mario Gomez enjoyed a stellar career for his numerous clubs and the German national team over a period of over a decade before he called time on his career in the summer.
The 35-year-old went full circle after he started and ended his career with boyhood club VfB Stuttgart. He scored 7 goals and one assist in 23 league games for Stuttgart in Bundesliga 2 last season in what was his final campaign as a professional player.
Apart from VfB Stuttgart, Mario Gomez also played for clubs like German champions Bayern Munich, VFL Wolfsburg, Italian Serie A side Fiorentina and Turkish Super League side Besiktas. He scored 31 goals in 78 appearances for the German national team before his retirement in 2018.
He featured for the Germans in both the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament in South Africa and the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament in Russia. His retirement was announced at the end of the tournament in the European nation of Russia. Let’s examine 10 things on Mario Gomez.
- He has Spanish roots as his father Jose Garcia Gomez hails from Albunan, a small village near Granada.
- Mario Gomez has Brazilian idols. The trio of Romario, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho are his favourite footballers.
- He was born in Riedlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. He turned down VfB Stuttgart at the age of 13. The retired German international later signed for Stuttgart at the age of 16.
- He signed for Bayern Munich in 2009 and went on to score just 10 goals in his debut season as the German took time to settle to his new surroundings at the Allianz Arena. His breakthrough campaign came in the 2010/11 season as he finished as the topscorer in the German Bundesliga with 28 goals.
- He helped Bayern to an unprecedented treble in his last season (2012/13 campaign).
- Mario Gomez had more success at the European Championships over the FIFA World Cup tournament.
- He helped VFL Wolfsburg to preserve their 20-year status in the German Bundesliga. Mario Gomez scored 16 league goals to help them preserve their topflight