Mario Gómez facts for kids
Gómez with VfB Stuttgart in 2018
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 10 July 1985 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Riedlingen, West Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1998 | SV Unlingen | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2000 | FV Bad Saulgau | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | SSV Ulm 1846 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | VfB Stuttgart | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | VfB Stuttgart II | 43 | (21) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2009 | VfB Stuttgart | 121 | (63) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2013 | Bayern Munich | 115 | (75) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2016 | Fiorentina | 29 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | → Beşiktaş (loan) | 33 | (26) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | VfL Wolfsburg | 45 | (17) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | VfB Stuttgart | 70 | (22) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 456 | (231) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Germany U15 | 3 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2001 | Germany U17 | 14 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Germany U18 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Germany U19 | 19 | (11) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Germany U20 | 8 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Germany U21 | 9 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Germany B | 2 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2018 | Germany | 78 | (31) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Mario Gómez García (born 10 July 1985) is a German former professional footballer. He was a talented striker who played for the German national team for 11 years. His career lasted from 2007 to 2018.
Gómez started his amazing journey with VfB Stuttgart. He helped them win the Bundesliga in 2006–07. He scored 14 goals and was named German Footballer of the Year. In 2009, he moved to Bayern Munich for a record fee. With Bayern, he became the Bundesliga's top scorer in 2011. He also helped them win seven trophies, including the UEFA Champions League in 2013.
After Bayern, Gómez played for Serie A team Fiorentina in Italy. He then went on loan to Beşiktaş in Turkey in 2015. There, he was the top scorer as the club won the Süper Lig. He later returned to Germany to play for VfL Wolfsburg. He rejoined Stuttgart for a final time, helping them get promoted back to the Bundesliga.
Mario Gómez played for Germany in three UEFA European Championships and two FIFA World Cups. He was the top scorer at UEFA Euro 2012. He stopped playing for the national team in 2018.
Contents
Mario Gómez's Club Career
Starting Out at Stuttgart
Mario Gómez began his professional career with VfB Stuttgart. He played for their second team, VfB Stuttgart II, from 2003 to 2005. During this time, he scored 21 goals in 43 games.
He made his first team debut for Stuttgart in the Champions League in March 2004. He also played his first Bundesliga game in May that year. In the 2005–06 season, Gómez became a regular player. He scored six goals in 30 Bundesliga matches. He also scored twice in the UEFA Cup.
In the 2006–07 season, Gómez became one of the best scorers in the Bundesliga. Even after breaking his hand and tearing a knee ligament, he came back strong. He helped Stuttgart win the German championship. He scored 14 goals in 25 league games. Stuttgart also reached the DFB-Pokal final, but they lost. After this great season, he was named German Footballer of the Year.
The 2007–08 season saw Gómez score 19 goals in 25 league games. He was the second-highest scorer in the Bundesliga. He also scored six goals in the DFB-Pokal, making him the top scorer in that competition. Fans called him "Mr. Reliable" because he always seemed to score important goals. In May 2009, he scored four goals in one game against VfL Wolfsburg. The 2008–09 season was his last with Stuttgart. He scored 24 goals in 32 league games.
Moving to Bayern Munich
First Seasons and Top Scorer
On 26 May 2009, Mario Gómez moved to Bayern Munich. This was a record transfer fee for the Bundesliga at the time. In his first season, he scored 10 league goals.
In the 2010–11 season, Gómez became a key player for Bayern. He finished as the top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 28 goals. He scored his 100th Bundesliga goal in May 2011. He also scored eight goals in the Champions League. Overall, he scored 39 goals in all competitions that season.
Champions League Final and Treble Win
The 2011–12 season was another strong one for Gómez. He scored four goals in one game against SC Freiburg. He also scored a hat-trick in a Champions League match against Napoli. In March 2012, he scored four goals against Basel in the Champions League. This helped Bayern reach the quarter-finals.
Gómez scored 13 goals in the Champions League that season. He helped Bayern reach the final against Chelsea. Bayern lost the final in a penalty shootout. He finished the season with 26 league goals and 13 Champions League goals.
In the 2012–13 season, Gómez had ankle surgery. This meant he started the season on the bench. However, he still scored important goals. He scored two goals in a 6–1 win against Werder Bremen. He also scored a hat-trick in the DFB-Pokal semi-final against VfL Wolfsburg.
Bayern Munich had an amazing season in 2012–13. They won the Bundesliga title. Gómez played in the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund. Bayern won 2–1. He then scored two goals in the DFB-Pokal final against his old club, Stuttgart. Bayern won 3–2. This meant Bayern won the treble: the league, the cup, and the Champions League. It was a historic achievement!
Time in Italy and Turkey
Fiorentina and Injuries
In July 2013, Gómez moved to Serie A team Fiorentina in Italy. He scored his first two goals for the club in September. However, he faced many injuries during his time in Italy. He missed a lot of games due to knee injuries. In the 2013–14 season, he scored only three goals in nine league games.
He continued to struggle with injuries in the 2014–15 season. Despite this, he scored four goals in the Coppa Italia. He also scored two goals in the Europa League.
Loan to Beşiktaş and League Title
On 30 July 2015, Gómez joined Beşiktaş in Turkey on loan. He quickly became a star player there. He scored two goals in his second league game. He also scored twice in a big derby game against Fenerbahçe. Beşiktaş won that game 3–2.
Gómez continued to score many goals for Beşiktaş. By the end of 2015, he was the top scorer in the Süper Lig with 13 goals. He also scored two goals in the Europa League. In March 2016, he scored twice against Eskişehirspor. This brought his total to 19 Süper Lig goals.
He scored the first goal ever in Beşiktaş' new stadium, Vodafone Park. This was his 21st goal of the season. Gómez finished as the Süper Lig top scorer with 26 goals. Beşiktaş won the league title that season. He scored 28 goals in 41 games across all competitions. In July 2016, Gómez decided to leave Beşiktaş due to political reasons in Turkey.
Return to Germany
Wolfsburg and Stuttgart
On 17 August 2016, Gómez returned to the Bundesliga. He signed for VfL Wolfsburg. He scored his first goal for Wolfsburg in October. This goal was the 1,000th scored by Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. In April 2017, he scored his first hat-trick for the club. He scored three goals in just seven minutes! He finished the 2016–17 season with 16 league goals. He helped Wolfsburg avoid relegation.
On 22 December 2017, Gómez made a big move. He returned to his first club, VfB Stuttgart. He signed a contract until June 2020. He scored eight goals in 16 games in the 2017–18 season.
In the 2018–19 season, Gómez was Stuttgart's top scorer with seven goals. Stuttgart was relegated to the second division. On 28 June 2020, Mario Gómez announced his retirement from professional football. He scored in his final match, helping Stuttgart get promoted back to the Bundesliga.
Mario Gómez's International Career
Playing for Germany
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Mario Gómez has both German and Spanish citizenship. He chose to play for Germany. He played for all German youth national teams from age 14. He made his debut for the senior German team in February 2007. He scored a goal in Germany's 3–1 win against Switzerland.
Major Tournaments
UEFA Euro 2008 and 2010 FIFA World Cup
Gómez was part of the German squad for Euro 2008. However, he struggled to score goals in the tournament. Germany reached the final but lost 1–0 to Spain.
He was also in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played in four matches, but all as a substitute. He did not score any goals in this tournament either.
UEFA Euro 2012 Success
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Despite being a second-choice striker, Gómez played well in the qualifying matches for Euro 2012. He scored against every opponent. He even scored two goals against Austria in the same stadium where he had struggled four years earlier.
At UEFA Euro 2012, Gómez scored the only goal against Portugal. This gave Germany a 1–0 win. He then scored two goals against the Netherlands. He finished as the second-best scorer of the tournament with three goals and one assist.
UEFA Euro 2016 and 2018 FIFA World Cup
Gómez missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup due to a knee injury. Germany went on to win that tournament.
He was called back to the national team for UEFA Euro 2016. On 21 June 2016, he scored the winning goal against Northern Ireland. On 26 June, he scored again against Slovakia. This made him Germany's all-time leading scorer at the UEFA European Championship with five goals.
Gómez was selected for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. He played in the opening match against Mexico. He also provided an assist in the game against Sweden. On 5 August 2018, he announced his retirement from international football.
Mario Gómez's Playing Style
During his best years, Mario Gómez was known as one of the top strikers in football. He was great at shooting with both feet. He was also very good at heading the ball. His ability to predict where crosses and passes would go was a key strength. He always seemed to be in the right place to score.
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger called him "a great finisher." Gómez was also strong on the ball, making it hard for defenders to take it from him. He was especially good at finishing chances created by wingers like Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben at Bayern. Some people thought he had limited skills beyond scoring goals.
Personal Life
Mario Gómez was born in Riedlingen, Germany. He grew up in a nearby village called Unlingen. His father is Spanish, and his mother is German. He has dual citizenship, meaning he is a citizen of both Germany and Spain. He chose to play football for Germany.
Mario Gómez married German model Carina Wanzung on 22 July 2016.
Honours and Awards
Mario Gómez won many titles and awards during his career:
VfB Stuttgart
- Bundesliga: 2006–07
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2009–10, 2012–13
- DFB-Pokal: 2009–10, 2012–13
- UEFA Champions League: 2012–13 (also a runner-up twice)
Beşiktaş
- Süper Lig: 2015–16
Germany National Team
- UEFA European Championship: Runner-up in 2008; Third place in 2012
- FIFA World Cup: Third place in 2010
Individual Awards
- German Footballer of the Year: 2007
- UEFA European Championship top scorer: 2012
- Bundesliga top scorer: 2011
- DFB-Pokal top scorer: 2008, 2013
- Coppa Italia top scorer: 2015
- Süper Lig top scorer: 2016
Images for kids
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Gómez with VfB Stuttgart in 2018
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Gómez celebrates winning the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart in 2007.
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Gómez with Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final
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Gómez playing for Germany in 2011
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Gómez against Austria in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualification match
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Gómez with Germany in 2018
See Also
In Spanish: Mario Gómez García para niños
