Aftter 78 appearances and 31 national team goals Mario Gomez finally decided to retire from the national team in order to “give many young people and talented young men”. He may well be the last of a dying breed and Germany will surely struggle to replace him.
It’s hard to imagine that Gomez’s childhood idol would be Okocha. The core of the Nigerian midfielder, nicknamed “Flying Birds”, is a recognized master of dribbling. He played for Frankfurt for a short period and will forever be remembered for his goal against German Legend Olivar Kahn. Dribbling in the penalty box Okocha beat the entire defence before slotting past Kahn in a move that involved him beating some players twice with a single move. The goal was voted Goal of the Season by many soccer magazines, and also voted as 1993 Goal of the Year by viewers of Sportschau (an ARD German TV sports programme). Gomez found his Idol after that goal.
He began his professional career with VfB Stuttgart, and when they became champions in 2006–07, Gómez contributed 14 goals and 7 assists at only 21 years of age and was voted 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 Beşiktaş in 2015 and was top scorer as they won the Süper Lig, then subsequently returned to Germany by joining VfL Wolfsburg. After helping them avoid relegation in his first season, he agreed to return to VfB Stuttgart in January 2018.
Although being the second choice behind Miroslav Klose as centre-forward during Germany’s qualification for Euro 2012, Gómez played regularly and contributed goals against every opponent of that campaign: Kazakhstan, Austria, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Belgium. This included two goals against Austria in Germany’s 2–1 away win in the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, scoring into the very same goal in which he had been unable to score three years earlier during Euro 2008. In a spontaneous gesture of relief, he kissed the goalpost after he scored the first goal.
Prior to Euro 2012, Gómez captained Germany for the first time in a 3–3 draw against Ukraine in the first match at the renovated Olympic Stadion of Kiev.It was his 50th international cap, and aged 26, he was Germany’s oldest player in the starting lineup.
Gómez scored the only, and winning, goal against Portugal in their first group match at Euro 2012. He then scored twice against the Netherlands in Germany’s second Group B match, making it three goals in two matches. In the end, he became second-best scorer of the tournament, behind Spain’s Fernando Torres. Both had three goals and one assist, however Torres became top scorer of the tournament because he played fewer minutes than Gómez
On June 13, 2012, the German team faced off with the Dutch team in the second round of the European Cup group match. 24th minutes into the match, Gomez received a through ball from Schweinsteiger in the penalty area and in one switf move picked the ball while on the turn before slotting home to give Germany the lead. The goal is regarded as his finsest in German colours. The strike had Okocha written all over it, his childhood Idol.
On 4 April, Gómez signed a new contract with Bayern Munich, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2016. Gómez scored the winning goal in Bayern’s 2–1 victory over Real Madrid in the first leg of their semi-final clash. Bayern went on to win the tie 3–1 on penalties after the teams were deadlocked 3–3 on aggregate. On 19 May 2012, he played in the Champions League Final against Chelsea. He failed to find the net in regular time in the game but scored in the penalty shoot-out as Bayern once again fell at the final hurdle, losing 4–3 on penalties after a 1–1 finish. He finished the 2011–12 season with 26 goals in 33 league appearances, two goals in five DFB-Pokal appearances, and 13 goals in 14 Champions League appearances.
Gómez can shoot with both feet and is considered to be an aerial threat. However, his best ability remains his ability to anticipate crosses and passes, and position himself to shoot. Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger described him as “a great finisher who is often in the right place to finish off moves”. Moreover, Gómez’s body balance and ability to hold up the ball often creates trouble for defenders. During his time at Bayern, his ability to appear “at the right place at the right time” proved to be one of Germany’s most lethal strikers of all time. He will be remembered for his poacher instincts inside the box as well as his never say die attitude. The Germans will surely miss the talisman striker.