Mario Gómez García (German pronunciation: [ˈmaːʁioː ˈɡɔmɛs]; born 10 July 1985) is a German footballer who plays as a striker for Fiorentina in the Serie A and the German national team. Gómez joined Fiorentina after spending four seasons with Bayern Munich, which he joined after six years playing for VfB Stuttgart. The fee was a record for a player transferred in the Bundesliga, estimated to be €30–35 million, surpassing previous holder Márcio Amoroso. The fee is currently the third highest, after former Bayern teammates Mario Götze and Javi Martínez, respectively. When Stuttgart became champions in 2006–07, Gómez contributed 14 goals and seven assists at the age of 21 and was selected as German Footballer of the Year.
Gómez was born in Riedlingen. He was raised in nearby Unlingen, an Upper Swabian village in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany about 100 km south of Stuttgart and 175 km west of Munich. Gómez is of German-Spanish descent — his father, Pepe Gómez, is Spanish from Albuñán, Granada and his mother, Christel Roth, is German. He has both German and Spanish citizenship and decided to play for the German national team. His first appearance for the team was in February 2007 against Switzerland and he has been called up regularly since.
Gómez is notable as being outspoken about social matters. For example, regarding homosexuality in football, he has stated that he believes gay players should be open about their sexuality and thinks that "they would play as if they had been liberated."He also stated that he would like a "radical rethink" about homosexuality in football.
Gómez ended his nine-year relationship with Silvia Meichel on 2 October 2012. Gómez has been dating German model Carina Wanzung since December 2012
Gómez celebrates winning the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart in 2007
On 9 March 2004, Gómez played 10 minutes for VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League first knock-out round against Chelsea and made his debut in the Bundesliga on 8 May, coming on for Imre Szabics in a 2–1 loss to Hamburger SV.
In the 2004–05 season, playing for Stuttgart's team in the Regionalliga Süd (Regional League South, then part of the third tier of German football after the national team and the Bundesliga), he scored 15 times in 24 games and made eight first-team appearances throughout the season.
In the 2005–06 season, Gómez joined the first team permanently. He played 30 times in the Bundesliga, scoring six times at this level. His first goal came on 17 September 2005 as the striker scored the winning goal in a 2–1 defeat of 1. FSV Mainz 05. The striker also played five times in the UEFA Cup, scoring twice, and played three times in the DFB-Pokal.
In the 2006–07 season, the youngster established himself as one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga. He broke his hand, however, on 10 March 2007 and suffered a torn ligament in his left knee. He made his comeback on 12 May 2007 and immediately scored after coming on from the bench. In that game, Stuttgart defeated VfL Bochum (3–2) and went two points clear heading into the Bundesliga's final weekend, where they won at home against Energie Cottbus, thus becoming German champions. Furthermore, Stuttgart also reached final of the DFB-Pokal, where Gómez participated, but Stuttgart lost to 1. FC Nuremberg. After the season, he was named German Footballer of the Year for 2007[10] and extended his contract at Stuttgart until 2012.
In the 2007–08 season, while the rest of his team struggled to keep performing at their 2006–07 season standards, Gómez remained at an astonishingly high level, scoring 19 goals in 25 appearances, second in the Bundesliga's Top Scorer list, just behind Bayern Munich's Luca Toni, who scored 24 times. In the DFB-Pokal, Gómez was the top scorer, with six goals.Because of his development, many big clubs became interested in the then-23-year-old forward. 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 managed to net in a virtually unreachable pass by teammate Yıldıray Baştürk. On 9 May 2009, Gómez hit four goals to inspire Stuttgart to a 4–1 victory over Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg
On 26 May 2009, Gómez was eventually transferred to Bayern Munich on a Bundesliga record transfer fee, signing a four-year contract. The amount of the transfer fee varies from 30–35 million euro, depending on different sources.Gómez was not scoring like his usual self in his first season for Bayern, with just 10 goals netted, but in the cup, he was more prolific, with three goals in just four games. Gómez was also short in the assists column, as well. Quite surprisingly, he made an impact as he was to start the majority of games next season for Bayern. Also in his first season, Gómez was teamed up with his German international strike partner Miroslav Klose to give him some first-team experience.
After an erratic first season at Bayern with 10 goals in 29 league appearances, Gómez established himself as a starter during the 2010–11 season (to an extent at the expense of Miroslav Klose and due to an injury sustained by Ivica Olić) and finished as top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 28 goals. He scored his 100th Bundesliga goal with his third strike in a 1–8 away victory over FC St. Pauli on 7 May 2011, the hat-trick already being his fifth in the Bundesliga in the 2010–11 season, and his sixth overall, adding in his hat-trick against CFR Cluj in the Champions League. Gómez has scored 13 hat-tricks in his Bundesliga career, three with VfB Stuttgart and ten with Bayern. Gómez also netted eight times in the Champions League and finished in second place in the season's top scorers, tied with Samuel Eto'o, although Bayern were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Internazionale. Gómez in all competitions scored 39 goals in his second season with the Bavarian club.
Gómez was born in Riedlingen. He was raised in nearby Unlingen, an Upper Swabian village in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany about 100 km south of Stuttgart and 175 km west of Munich. Gómez is of German-Spanish descent — his father, Pepe Gómez, is Spanish from Albuñán, Granada and his mother, Christel Roth, is German. He has both German and Spanish citizenship and decided to play for the German national team. His first appearance for the team was in February 2007 against Switzerland and he has been called up regularly since.
Gómez is notable as being outspoken about social matters. For example, regarding homosexuality in football, he has stated that he believes gay players should be open about their sexuality and thinks that "they would play as if they had been liberated."He also stated that he would like a "radical rethink" about homosexuality in football.
Gómez ended his nine-year relationship with Silvia Meichel on 2 October 2012. Gómez has been dating German model Carina Wanzung since December 2012
Gómez celebrates winning the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart in 2007
On 9 March 2004, Gómez played 10 minutes for VfB Stuttgart in the Champions League first knock-out round against Chelsea and made his debut in the Bundesliga on 8 May, coming on for Imre Szabics in a 2–1 loss to Hamburger SV.
In the 2004–05 season, playing for Stuttgart's team in the Regionalliga Süd (Regional League South, then part of the third tier of German football after the national team and the Bundesliga), he scored 15 times in 24 games and made eight first-team appearances throughout the season.
In the 2005–06 season, Gómez joined the first team permanently. He played 30 times in the Bundesliga, scoring six times at this level. His first goal came on 17 September 2005 as the striker scored the winning goal in a 2–1 defeat of 1. FSV Mainz 05. The striker also played five times in the UEFA Cup, scoring twice, and played three times in the DFB-Pokal.
In the 2006–07 season, the youngster established himself as one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga. He broke his hand, however, on 10 March 2007 and suffered a torn ligament in his left knee. He made his comeback on 12 May 2007 and immediately scored after coming on from the bench. In that game, Stuttgart defeated VfL Bochum (3–2) and went two points clear heading into the Bundesliga's final weekend, where they won at home against Energie Cottbus, thus becoming German champions. Furthermore, Stuttgart also reached final of the DFB-Pokal, where Gómez participated, but Stuttgart lost to 1. FC Nuremberg. After the season, he was named German Footballer of the Year for 2007[10] and extended his contract at Stuttgart until 2012.
In the 2007–08 season, while the rest of his team struggled to keep performing at their 2006–07 season standards, Gómez remained at an astonishingly high level, scoring 19 goals in 25 appearances, second in the Bundesliga's Top Scorer list, just behind Bayern Munich's Luca Toni, who scored 24 times. In the DFB-Pokal, Gómez was the top scorer, with six goals.Because of his development, many big clubs became interested in the then-23-year-old forward. 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 managed to net in a virtually unreachable pass by teammate Yıldıray Baştürk. On 9 May 2009, Gómez hit four goals to inspire Stuttgart to a 4–1 victory over Bundesliga champions VfL Wolfsburg
On 26 May 2009, Gómez was eventually transferred to Bayern Munich on a Bundesliga record transfer fee, signing a four-year contract. The amount of the transfer fee varies from 30–35 million euro, depending on different sources.Gómez was not scoring like his usual self in his first season for Bayern, with just 10 goals netted, but in the cup, he was more prolific, with three goals in just four games. Gómez was also short in the assists column, as well. Quite surprisingly, he made an impact as he was to start the majority of games next season for Bayern. Also in his first season, Gómez was teamed up with his German international strike partner Miroslav Klose to give him some first-team experience.
After an erratic first season at Bayern with 10 goals in 29 league appearances, Gómez established himself as a starter during the 2010–11 season (to an extent at the expense of Miroslav Klose and due to an injury sustained by Ivica Olić) and finished as top goalscorer in the Bundesliga with 28 goals. He scored his 100th Bundesliga goal with his third strike in a 1–8 away victory over FC St. Pauli on 7 May 2011, the hat-trick already being his fifth in the Bundesliga in the 2010–11 season, and his sixth overall, adding in his hat-trick against CFR Cluj in the Champions League. Gómez has scored 13 hat-tricks in his Bundesliga career, three with VfB Stuttgart and ten with Bayern. Gómez also netted eight times in the Champions League and finished in second place in the season's top scorers, tied with Samuel Eto'o, although Bayern were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Internazionale. Gómez in all competitions scored 39 goals in his second season with the Bavarian club.
 Gómez with Germany in 2011. |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Mario Gómez García | ||
| Date of birth | 10 July 1985 | ||
| Place of birth | Riedlingen, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Striker | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Fiorentina | ||
| Number | 33 | ||
| 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– | Fiorentina | 2 | (2) |
| 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 | Team 2006 | 2 | (1) |
| 2007– | Germany[1] | 59 | (25) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:18, 1 September 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:01, 14 August 2013 (UTC) | |||
