@FootynewsMario Gómez wasn’t the type to fill a highlight reel with stepovers. He was the striker you turned to when the ball needed to end up in the net, no questions asked. A pure box nine, all instinct and finishing. That reputation started early at VfB Stuttgart, where he broke through as a kid, won the Bundesliga in 2006-07, and was named Germany’s Footballer of the Year at just 21. Bayern Munich came calling and he delivered 113 goals, a pile of trophies, and a central role in the club’s historic treble in 2013. A serious injury could have derailed everything, but he rebuilt his scoring touch at Beşiktaş, leading the league in goals and lifting the Turkish title. He then returned to Stuttgart and dragged the club back to the Bundesliga, finishing the story where it began. For Germany he put up 31 goals in 78 caps. The one thing missing was the 2014 World Cup; an injury kept him out of the squad that lifted the trophy. Still, when you needed a goal, Gómez was the answer.

@FootynewsMario Gómez wasn’t the type to fill a highlight reel with stepovers. He was the striker you turned to when the ball needed to end up in the net, no questions asked. A pure box nine, all instinct and finishing. That reputation started early at VfB Stuttgart, where he broke through as a kid, won the Bundesliga in 2006-07, and was named Germany’s Footballer of the Year at just 21. Bayern Munich came calling and he delivered 113 goals, a pile of trophies, and a central role in the club’s historic treble in 2013. A serious injury could have derailed everything, but he rebuilt his scoring touch at Beşiktaş, leading the league in goals and lifting the Turkish title. He then returned to Stuttgart and dragged the club back to the Bundesliga, finishing the story where it began. For Germany he put up 31 goals in 78 caps. The one thing missing was the 2014 World Cup; an injury kept him out of the squad that lifted the trophy. Still, when you needed a goal, Gómez was the answer.