Mario Gomez

At 38 years old, Mario Gomez has this physical status:

Mario Gómez García (born 10 July 1985) is a German professional footballer who plays as a striker for VfB Stuttgart of the 2.

Bundesliga.

He represented the Germany national team over a period of 11 years between 2007 and 2018. He began his professional career with VfB Stuttgart, and when they became champions in 2006–07, Gómez contributed 14 goals and 7 assists at age 21 and was selected as German Footballer of the Year.

In 2009, he signed for Bayern Munich for an estimated €30–35 million, then a league record.

With Bayern Munich, Gómez was the Bundesliga top scorer in 2011, and helped the team to seven honours, including the UEFA Champions League in 2013.

He then left for Serie A team Fiorentina for a €20 million fee in 2013, and was affected by injury during his time in Italy.

Gómez was loaned to Turkey's Besiktas in 2015 and was top scorer as they won the Süper Lig, then subsequently returned to Germany by joining VfL Wolfsburg.

The season he joined, he helped VfL Wolfsburg avoid relegation and returned to VfB Stuttgart after. Gómez made his senior international debut for Germany in February 2007, and was included in their squads for three UEFA European Championships and two FIFA World Cups, finishing as top scorer at UEFA Euro 2012.

He retired from international football in 2018.

Personal life

Gómez was born in Riedlingen, in the state of Baden-Württemberg. He was brought up in nearby Unlingen, an Upper Swabian village in Baden-Württemberg, about 100 km (60 miles) south of Stuttgart and 175 km (110 miles) west of Munich. Gómez is of German-Spanish descent. His father, José "Pepe" Gómez García, is a Spaniard from Albuñán, Granada, and his mother, Christel Roth, is German. He has dual citizenship and opted to play for Germany.

Gómez ended his nine-year relationship with Silvia Meichel on 2 October 2012. Gómez began dating German model Carina Wanzung in December 2012. They married on 22 July 2016.

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Club career

In the 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons, Gómez played for VfB Stuttgart II in the Regionalliga Süd. In 19 appearances during the 2003–04 season, he scored six goals in 19 appearances and 15 goals in 24 appearances in 2004–05.

On March 9, 2004, Gómez played ten minutes for Stuttgart in the Champions League first knock-out round against Chelsea and made his Bundesliga debut against Chelsea on May 8th. Imre Szabics lost by 21-0 to Hamburger SV. These were his only two appearances for the first team in 2003-2004. He'll continue to make eight league appearances, one DFB-Pokal appearance, and one UEFA Cup appearance.

Gómez was a member of the first team permanently in the 2005-06 season. He appeared in the Bundesliga for 30 times, winning six times at this level. In a 2–1 win over Mainz 05, the winner scored his first goal on September 17, 2005, the first goal in his career. Gómez has played five times in the UEFA Cup, scoring twice, and he has appeared three times in both the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Ligapokal.

Gómez made a name for himself in the 2006–07 season as one of the Bundesliga's top scorers. However, he broke his hand on March 10, 2007 and sustained a torn ligament injury in his left knee. After coming off from the bench, he made his comeback on May 12th and immediately scored. Stuttgart defeated VfL Bochum (3–2) in that match, putting two points ahead of the Bundesliga's final weekend, in which they defeated Energie Cottbus at home, making them German champions. Stuttgart was also in the final of the DFB-Pokal, where Gómez appeared, but Stuttgart lost to 1. FC Nürnberg is a football team based in Nürnberg. In five DFB-Pokal appearances, he had scored in 25 league appearances and two goals. He was named German Footballer of the Year for 2007 and then continued his employment at Stuttgart until 2012.

Gómez scored 19 goals in 25 appearances in the 2007–08 season, just behind Bayern Munich's Luca Toni, who scored 24 times. Gómez was the top scorer with six goals in the DFB-Pokal tournament. Many clubs became involved in the then-23-year-old forward as a result of his growth. Gómez gained the nickname "Mr. Zuverlässig" ("Mr.." Reliable"), as seen in his second of three goals against Bundesliga rival Werder Bremen (final score 6–3), where he scored in a virtually unreachable pass by teammate Yld Baştürk. Stuttgart beat Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg 4–1. Gómez scored four goals on May 9, 2009, giving Stuttgart a 4–1 win over the Bundesliga champions. In four UEFA Champions League appearances, he scored six goals in three DFB-Pokal appearances and three goals.

The 2008–09 season was his last in a Stuttgart uniform, with him moving to Bayern Munich after the season. In 32 league appearances, three goals in two DFB-Pokal appearances, and eight goals in ten UEFA Cup appearances, he scored 24 goals in 32 games, three goals in three league appearances, three goals in three DFB-Pokal appearances, and eight goals in ten UEFA Cup appearances.

Gómez, a player from Bayern Munich, was released on a Bundesliga record transfer fee on May 26, 2009, after a four-year deal. According to various sources, the transfer fee ranged from €30 to $35 million. With ten league goals and one Champions League goal scored in his first season for Bayern, Gómez's scoring numbers were lower than previous seasons. He had less assistants than he had in the past. However, Gómez was more prolific in the DFB-Pokal, with three goals in only four games.

Gómez earned himself as a starter during the 2010–11 season after an uneventful first season at Bayern with 10 goals in 29 league appearances (to a degree at the expense of Miroslav Klose and due to an injury sustained by Ivica Oli) and finished as the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 28 goals. With his third strike in a 1–8 away victory over FC St. Pauli on May 7, 2011, he scored his third Bundesliga goal and sixth overall, as well as his fifth in the 2010-2011 season and his sixth overall, bringing his hat-trick against CFR Cluj in the Champions League. In his Bundesliga career, Gómez scored 13 hat-tricks, three with VfB Stuttgart and ten with Bayern. Gómez scored eight times in the Champions League, finishing in second place in the season's best scorers, tied with Samuel Eto'o, but Bayern was disqualified in the round of 16 by Inter Milan. In his second season with the Bavarian team, Gómez scored 39 goals in all competitions.

In Bayern's victory over Hamburger SV on August 20, 2011, Gómez scored his first league goal of the 2011-2012 season. Gómez threw away a hat-trick against 1. FC Kaiserslautern is a football team based in Germany. Bayern beat SC Freiburg 7–0 on September 10, beating them 4–0, securing four straight victories for the Bavarians and a return to the top of the Bundesliga table. Bayern defeated Manchester City 2–0 on September 27th, thanks to Gómez' two first-half goals on September 27th.

When Bayern defeated Hertha BSC 4–0, Gómez scored his second brace of the Bundesliga season, beating them in a brace on October 29th. Nürnberg 0–0. He scored his third brace of the season on December 11th and sealed Bayern's 2–1 victory over southern rivals VfB Stuttgart, his former club. In a Champions League group stage match against Napoli on November 2nd, he scored a hat-trick. Bayern won the game 3–2. Gómez played two goals in the DFB-Pokal competition. Gómez's 40th goal of the 2011 calendar year came on December 16, 2011 against 1. FC Köln ist a football team in Köln.

Bayern Munich defeated India 4–0 over the India national football team on 10 January, when Guang Thutia's ball player Baichung Bhutia scored the opening goal for the Bayern Munich football team.

Bayern Munich defeated Basel 0–1 away from losing the Champions League match by four goals on March 13, 2012, sending the Bavarians to the quarter-finals 7–1 on aggregate. Bayern defeated Olympique de Marseille in the first leg on March 28th, his 11th Champions League victory of the season; he lost in 2–0 for the Bavarians in the quarter-finals.

Gómez renewed his deal with Bayern Munich on April 4th, extending his stay at the club until the summer of 2016. Bayern's 2–1 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final match, with Gómez scoring the winning goal. After the teams were deadlocked 3–3 on aggregate, Bayern went on to win the tie 3–1 on penalties. Gómez defeated Chelsea in the Champions League final on May 19, 2012. In the regular game, he struggled to find the net in regular time, but in the penalty shoot-out, Bayern lost by 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 finish. Gómez played in 33 games in 33 league appearances, two goals in five DFB-Pokal appearances, and 13 goals in 14 Champions League appearances.

After recovering ankle surgery after UEFA Euro 2012, Gómez came back to the squad late. Although Mandukis form made him the Bundesliga's top scorer due to his injury and the signing of Croatian striker Mario Manduki from VfL Wolfsburg.

In the Champions League's group stage of the Champions League, Gómez returned to action on November 20th, as the club's 1–1 draw with Valencia made him a 79th minute replacement for winger Franck Ribéry. On November 24, the striker scored his first goal within a minute of his Bundesliga debut, eliciting a 5–0 victory over Hannover 96. In their final group game of the Champions League, Gómez opened the scoring for the hosts, defeating BATE Borisov 4–1, securing the Bavarians' top spot in the competition over Valencia on December 5th.

Following the winter break, Gómez pushed for a first-team spot, scoring two goals and setting up another as Bayern cruised past Werder Bremen 6–1. Jupp Heynckes' 1,000th game as a player and coach in the Bundesliga was his 1,000th game as a player and mentor. On April 6, the striker was a used substitute against Eintracht Frankfurt as a lone Bastian Schweinsteiger's 11th successive victory and the club's 23rd national championship. It was Gómez' second title win with Bayern and his third overall.

Gómez scored a six-minute hat-trick after being called on in the 77th minute, securing a spot in the final against southern rivals and former Wolfsburg on April 16th. Bayern won by 6–1 over the club's second brace in four days on April 20th, a new Bundesliga record. In the absence of Mario Manduki s return to the team in the Champions League's semi-finals on Sunday, Gómez led the line, defeating Barcelona by 4–0.

Despite missing the first three months of the season, Gómez scored 11 Bundesliga goals, putting him third top-scoring for the club. In Bayern's 2–1 Champions League final victory over German rival Borussia Dortmund on May 25, he appeared as a late replacement. Bayern defeated Gómez's former club Stuttgart 3–2 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on June 1st, with him scoring a second-half brace in the DFB-Pokal final. The victory gave the Bavarians their 16th DFB-Pokal trophy and a first-time European cup trophy and a historic league, cup, and European cup treble. Gómez scored 11 goals in 21 league appearances in the 2012–13 season.

Uli Ferber, Gómez's manager, reported on June 6 that "it is absolutely certain" he will leave Bayern" as he has fallen behind Mario Mandouki in the pecking order for starting striker.

Gómez agreed to a four-year contract with Serie A side Fiorentina for a fee that is expected to be around €20 million on July 8, 2013. On July 15, he was officially unveiled as a Fiorentina celebrity to a crowd of 20,000 people.

In a 5–2 victory over Genoa on 1 September, Gómez scored his first two goals for la Viola. Gómez sustained an injury that kept him out of the team until Fiorentina's match against Internazionale on February 15, 2014, a 1–1 draw with Cagliari.

In a 1–1 draw against Juventus in the first leg of a UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie, Gómez scored his first European goal for Fiorentina on March 13th. In a 3–1 victory over Chievo three days later, he scored his first goal at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

In a 1–0 victory over Napoli on March 23, Gómez ruptured the ligaments in his left knee and was later barred from the rest of the season by Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Montella. In six Europa League appearances, he scored three goals in nine league appearances and one goal in six Europa League appearances during the 2013–14 season.

In Fiorentina's 3–1 victory over Atalanta in the last 16 of the Coppa Italia, Gómez scored twice, followed by another brace 13 days later in a 2–0 quarter-final victory against Roma. He played in 20 league appearances, four goals in four Coppa Italia appearances, and two goals in eight Europa League appearances.

Gómez joined Beşiktaş on a season-long loan agreement with Fiorentina for 2015-16 Süper Lig with a buy option on July 30, 2015. The service called for a €3.50 million per month. On July 31, 2015, he passed a medical exam successfully. At a press conference held on August 7, Gómez officially signed for the club alongside 4 other new players, including compatriot Andreas Beck. He opted for number 33 for his shirt.

Gómez made his Süper Lig debut against Mersin dman Yurdu in Mersin Arena on August 16, 2015, when he was brought on for Ouzhan zyakup in the 73rd minute. Beşiktaş won 5–2 on the game. In gameweek 4, Beşiktaş defeated Medipol Başakşehir 2–0 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium on September 13, 2015, with Gómez scoring both goals. During the 55th minute of Gómez's week 5 game against Gençlerbirli, the Icelandic midfielder allegedly had a red card for a suspected deliberate elbow on Icelandic midfielder lafur Ingi Sklason. During a derby game against Fenerbahce on September 27, 2015, Gómez scored two goals. Beşiktaş took the top of the Süper Lig standings after winning 3–2 and advancing to the top of the Süper Lig standings.

During the week 7 game against Eskişehirspor at New Eskişehir Stadium, which ended 2–1, Gómez scored twice. Gómez had scored six goals out of a dozen by week 7 of the Süper Lig, with six out of twelve. During week 3 of Beşiktaş' Group H game against Lokomotiv Moscow, which ended 1–1 at Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, on October 22, 2015, Gómez scored the equalizer. In Beşiktaş' week nine game against Antalyaspor, Gómez scored his third goal, leading to a 5-1 victory.

Gómez scored the first goal of the game against Sivasspor on Wednesday during Beşiktaş' week 12 game; the game ended 2–0.

Gómez scored against Kayserispor in a 2–1 victory for Beşiktaş on December 5, 2016. After the game ended 3–1 for the Portuguese side, Gómez scored Beşiktaş' only goal against Sporting in the Europa League Group Stage on December 10, 2015, on December 10, 2015. Beşiktaş were eventually barred from the competition. In a derby game against Galatay that ended 2–1 for Beşiktaş, Gómez scored Beşiktaş' first goal with a diving header on December 14th. Gómez led the scoring for Beşiktaş during week 16, but they were 2–0 down against Osmanlspor; the game was decided 3–2 in favour of Beşiktaş. Gómez scored his second goal of the week 17 against Konyaspor on December 28, which resulted in a 4–0 victory. Gómez and Samuel Eto'o were the top scorers of the first half of the Super Lig with 13 goals; Gómez completed the first half of the season with 29 shots on target. By the end of 2015, he had scored two goals in the UEFA Europa League.

Beşiktaş defeated Gaziantepspor 4–0 in a 20 game in Süper Lig's Süper Ligweek 20, scoring twice. In Beşiktaş' week 22 game against Gençlerbirlii, Gómez added another goal to his tally in the 64th minute. During the game on March 7, 2016, which ended 3–1 for Beşiktaş, Gómez scored twice against Eskişehirspor. With Pascal Nouma and Demba Ba, the club's total number of 19 Süper Lig goals tied for the club's highest scoring foreign player in single Süper Lig season.

On a rescheduled week 19 game, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor met each other. In a 2–0 victory, Gómez scored the first goal. In Beşiktaş' newly constructed Vodafone Park in the 22nd minute of the 2015–16 season, Gómez scored the first goal ever scored in the 22nd minute of the match against Bursaspor. Beşiktaş won their first game in this stadium, but the game came to a close 3–2. This was Gómez's 21st goal of the 2015-16 season.

In May 2016, Gómez met its targets and launched new ones. In the 76th minute, he scored one more in the Istanbul derby versus Galatasaray, which ended in a final score of 1–0 for Beşiktaş in week 32. In the week 33 game against Osmanlispor, Gómez scored again. It was his fifth straight Süper Lig game in which he had scored and his last league goal for Beşiktaş as the game ended 3-1. Gómez was named the "most scoring foreign player in single season" on Wednesday, beating Demba Ba's previous record of 27 goals scored in the 2014-15 season, his 28th in all competitions.

Gómez led to the top scorer on the season for the Süper Lig on 26 goals, ahead of Samuel Eto'o and Hugo Rodallega. In 41 games played in all competitions, he finished the season with 28 goals in 41 games. Gómez's farewell message on Facebook on July 20th said that he would not continue to play for Beşiktaş. He characterized it as a "difficult decision" on a political basis, referring to the 2016 coup d'état failed attempt in Turkey.

In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Gómez expressed his delight with his spell at Beşiktaş, adding, "[My time at] Beşiktaş was a pure fantasy for me." It was magical. I had a good season here. It was my first victory since winning the Champions League in 2013.

Gómez returned to the Bundesliga on August 17th by registering for VfL Wolfsburg. In a 3–1 loss to Darmstadt 98, he scored his first goal for the club on October 22nd, netting. His goal was the 1,000th goal scored by Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. Gómez's first hat-trick for the club came from 2–0 down to draw 3–3 with Bayer Leverkusen on April 2, 2017. His third goal of the season was his 150th goal scored in the Bundesliga. He scored 16 league goals from 2016-2017 as Wolfsburg barely escaped relegation by the relegation play-offs. In 37 appearances in all competitions, Gómez scored 18 goals in 38 games over the 2016-17 season.

Gómez signed a new deal in June 2017 after keeping his team in the top flight. Andries Jonker, the boss of Andries Jonker, was appointed captain in August by succeeding Diego Benaglio. In his last 15 appearances at the Volkswagen Arena, Gómez scored only once.

Gómez would return to VfB Stuttgart on January 1, 2018 for an undisclosed fee, according to the department on December 22, 2017. He has been on the job until June 2020. With eight goals in 16 appearances, he finished the 2017-18 season.

Gómez, Stuttgart's top scorer, scored seven goals in 2018–19. In the first leg of the play-off loss to 1. Gómez, the player who caused Stuttgart's relegation, scored an additional goal, becoming the first player to score for two teams in Bundesliga relegation play-offs.

Stuttgart revealed on June 28th, that Gómez had ended his professional career after scoring in his last match for the club and assisting them in gaining promotion back to the Bundesliga.

International career

Gómez holds both German and Spanish citizenship but has competed for all German youth national teams from age 14. On Sunday, he made his Germany senior team debut against Switzerland against Switzerland. Germany won the match 3–1, with Gómez scoring Germany's second goal. In a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against San Marino, Gómez earned his second cap for Germany by replacing Kevin Kurányi. In a 6–0 victory, he scored twice.

After Gómez's success in pre-tournament friendlies, Germany head coach Joachim Löw called him up to the German squad for Euro 2008. Löw ended the strike collaboration between Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose, with Podolski transferring to the left wing at the expense of talismanic midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Klose, who teamed up front. Unfortunately, Gómez was unable to resurrect his club form and missed many opportunities, including one in the last group match against Austria, which was criticized by the German media and many supporters of the national team. Germany eventually secured a spot in the knockout stages thanks to a Michael Ballack free-kick, but Löw dropped Gómez to the bench and resumed to the Podolski–Klose team. In the final of Euro 2008, Gómez was an unused substitute in the quarter-final and semi-final, but he came off the bench later, but Germany did not prevent Germany from losing 1–0 to Spain on June 29.

Gómez scored four goals in Germany's 7-2 victory over the UAE on June 2, 2009, bringing an end to the national team's 15-game goal drought.

Gómez was selected as one of the six forwards in Joachim Löw's 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He appeared in four out of seven German matches at the World Cup, all from the substitutes' bench; and England, replacing him in the 77th minute after replacing defensive midfielder Sami Khedira in the 80th minute; and Germany, replacing Miroslav Klose in the 77th minute. However, Gómez did not score a single point at a major tournament this season.

Despite being second choice for center-forward during Germany's Euro 2012 qualifiers, Gómez played regularly and contributed goals against every enemy of the campaign: Kazakhstan, Austria, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Belgium. In Germany's 2–1 away win in the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, the pair scored in the same goal in which he had been unable to score four years ago during Euro 2008. He kissed the goalpost after scoring the first goal in a show of mercy.

Gómez captained Germany for the first time in a 3-3 draw against Ukraine in the first match at the newly renovated Olympic Stadion in Kiev prior to Euro 2012. It was his 50th international cap and he was Germany's oldest player in the starting lineup at 26 years old.

In their first group match at Euro 2012, Gómez scored the only goal against Portugal, securing a 1–0 victory for Germany. In Germany's second Group B match, he scored twice against the Netherlands, bringing the total score to three goals in two matches. Gómez finished second in the tournament's second best scorer, behind Spain's Fernando Torres. Both players had three goals and one assist; however, Torres became the tournament's top scorer after playing less minutes than Gómez.

Gómez was not selected in Joachim Löw's squad for the 2014 World Cup after missing the majority of the 2013–14 season due to a knee injury.

Gómez was barred from the national team for the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying Group D encounters against Ireland and Georgia. For the first time since the international friendly against Argentina on September 4, 2014, Gómez was recalled to the national team in the first half of the 2015–16 Süper Lig. In November 2015, he was called into the Germany squad for friendlies against France and the Netherlands. In a 2–3 loss to England in Berlin on March 26, Gómez scored his first international goal in four years.

Gómez was selected to start in Germany's final Euro 2016 group match against Northern Ireland on June 21; he scored the winning goal in the 30th minute. Gómez scored in the 43rd minute in Germany's Round of 16 3–0 victory over Slovakia on June 26, becoming Germany's all-time leading scorer at the UEFA European Championship with five goals.

In Joachim Löw's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Gómez was chosen on June 4th. He made an appearance in Germany's first match against Mexico in the 79th minute, but the game was ended in a 1–0 loss for Germany. During Germany's second group stage match against Sweden on June 24, Gómez scored an assist to Marco Reus' equalizing goal with his first touch; the game ended in a 2–1 victory. He resigned from international football on August 5th.

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