Mario Gomez, a former striker including Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and the German national team, will retire as a professional footballer after helping Stuttgart, his debut club, to move up into the first division.
“It was my last mission“said Gomez on Sunday after the 1-3 loss to Darmstadt which does not prevent the VfB from returning to the Bundesliga next season.
Gomez scored his only goal, scoring his 110th goal in the jersey of Stuttgart, with whom he started in professional football in 2004 and where he has played since 2001.
Gomez then played at Bayern Munich (2009-2013), Fiorentina (2013-2015), Besiktas (2015-2016) and Wolfsburg (2016-2017) before returning to Stuttgart in 2017.
The club had been relegated to the second division at the end of last season. The center forward remained at the club, contributing with 7 goals in 23 games to the quick return of the ‘Schwaben’ in D1.
“I always dreamed of giving something back to VfB at the end of my career and of finishing it here“said Gomez.”It’s great to be able to say goodbye this wayGomez has scored 170 goals in 328 Bundesliga games.
He was German champion with Stuttgart in 2007 and with Bayern in 2010 and 2013. He also won the Turkish championship in 2016.
Gomez has 78 games and 31 goals for the German national team. With the ‘Mannschaft’, Gomez finished 2nd in Euro 2008, 3rd in the 2010 World Cup, and was eliminated in the semifinals of Euro 2012 and Euro 2016. He did not, however, part of the world champion group in 2014.
Belgian
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