Mario Gómez: Goodbye, Bullfighter

Mario Gómez turns 40! Time to look back on the career of one of Germany's best goalscorers. 1 / 26 1st professional game Playing your first professional game in the Champions League? Not everyone can claim that. Being man-marked by a world champion in that game? Only Gómez can claim that! 2 / 26 1st Bundesliga game After coming on as a substitute, Mario Gómez comes very close to scoring his first professional goal. Only the post gets in the way. 3 / 26 With the pros on the bench... In his first real professional season, 2004/05, Gómez remained goalless and mostly found himself on the VfB bench. Other top players, such as Lahm and Kuranyi, also sat alongside him. 4 / 26 ...amateur goalgetter Although the Regionalliga South wasn't quite as comfortable as the professional bench, Gómez evidently took up the fight, scoring 15 goals in 24 matches for the VfB Amateurs. 5 / 26 1, Bundesliga goal On September 17, 2005, Gómez scored his first Bundesliga goal in Stuttgart's away win at Mainz. He scored a total of six goals in the 2005/06 season. 6 / 26 Torero in the championship year In the 2006/07 season, Gómez was able to perform his signature celebration, the torero, a total of 14 times. 7 / 26 1st international match, 1st goal Things are also going well for Gómez in the DFB selection, scoring on his debut and being celebrated by experienced players such as Frings and Ballack. 8 / 26 Championship title with VfB Those were the days when VfB won the championship and people were busy snapping pictures with digital cameras. Sounds like the early 90s, but it was May 2007. 9 / 26 Missed double Despite Gómez winning a penalty, VfB had to admit defeat to 1. FC Nürnberg in the cup final. Nürnberg cup winners? I swear to you, that was 2007. 10 / 26 European Championship 2008 At the 2008 European Championship, Gómez had to endure the nation's ridicule for his "feat" of shooting the ball over the goal from a prime position in the preliminary round against hosts Austria. His career in the DFB jersey hardly gained momentum after that. 11 / 26 Transfer to Bayern, 2009/10 season Mario Gómez moved to FC Bayern for €30 million. At the time, it was the highest transfer fee the record champions had ever paid for a player. In Munich, Gómez met new coach Van Gaal, but initially not as often as he did in Stuttgart. 12 / 26 CL final defeat against Inter In Gómez's first season, Bayern reached the Champions League final. Van Gaal's charges were defeated 2-0 by Mourinho and Inter Milan. 13 / 26 Top scorer with Bayern Although Gómez didn't score until the 8th matchday of the 2010/11 season, but then scored three times, he took the top scorer award with 28 goals in 32 games. 14 / 26 German goal record in the Champions League That same season, Gómez scored four goals in a single match in Bayern's 7-0 victory in the second leg of their Champions League round of 16, becoming the first German player to do so. Had Messi not scored 14 goals, he would have even become the Champions League's top scorer with 12. 15 / 26 Lost "Finale dahoam" At the "Finale dahoam," Gómez lost his second Champions League final, despite scoring in the penalty shootout, and, like all other Bayern players, had to take the bitter step of missing out on the cup. 16 / 26 Finally the trophy It works on the third attempt. Gómez and Bayern win the Champions League against Dortmund. However, Gómez, who has struggled with injury problems this season, is only a supporting player. Mario Mandžukić has taken over his role as center forward... 17 / 26 Transfer to AC Florence ...so Gómez flees to Florence, preferring the "Dolce Vita" to the Munich crowd. At Gómez's performance, the stadium in Florence is bursting at the seams, and the Tifosi are expecting a lot. However, due to injuries, the striker is never truly happy there and rarely scores. 18 / 26 Adventure Istanbul After two unsuccessful years in Florence, the Swabian is loaned to Besiktas in Istanbul for the 2015/16 season. The Swabian is also warmly welcomed by the fanatical Besiktas fans. Gómez is expected to lead the Black Eagles to success... 19 / 26 Accuracy is back ...and indeed: In Istanbul, Gómez rediscovers his goal-scoring instinct. The bullfighter is back... 20 / 26 Championship and top scorer with Besiktas ...and how! Gómez scores 26 goals in 33 games and leads Besiktas to the championship. 21 / 26 Return to Germany Despite his success, his time in Turkey is over after one year. Gómez returns to Germany, to VfL Wolfsburg. With the Wolves, he at least manages to avoid relegation after a disappointing season. 22 / 26 Return to VfB During the winter break of the 2017/18 season, Gómez returned to his hometown, to VfB Stuttgart. The celebrations after his first goal since his return suggest that Wolfsburg wasn't exactly a matter of the heart: Gómez scored away at Wolfsburg, of all places. 23 / 26 Relegation with VfB After the 2018/19 season, Gómez has to take the bitter step of relegation to the second division after losing the relegation match against Union Berlin. 24 / 26 Last professional goal to date On March 9, Gómez scored his last goal in a 1-1 draw against league leaders and now second division champions Arminia Bielefeld. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this match was also the last match with spectators in the 1st or 2nd Bundesliga. 25 / 26 Motivator Gómez rises again Despite some ups and downs after the restart, VfB completed their return to the Bundesliga. Gómez, however, was barely able to play in these games and therefore primarily acted as a motivator. He finally ended his career in 2020... 26 / 26 ... and has been Technical Director at RB Leipzig since 2022. Well, it was almost a romantic career. Nevertheless: Happy birthday!