Last Mission VfB-rise: The quiet goodbye of Mario Gomez

in The end, they all played for him. For the last Time, together as VfB Stuttgart, for One, has accurately marked these VfB Stuttgart over the years, as barely a Second. There was no great farewell ovation, no thunderous applause, no noise at the end of the choreography.

Jan Ehrhardt

sports editor.

It was a silent farewell of the mark was without spectators in the stadium, with his teammates on the lawn and a few others. At the end of the season in the second League, the 1:3 against SV Darmstadt 98, bowing to Mario Gomez for the last Time by the German football stage, and quietly said goodbye – after a total of 587 appearances as a professional. Possible that it's hanging somewhere abroad for a year in Stuttgart, which is in the next season again top notch, but is definitely closing. And so Germany loses one of the best strikers in this football nation in the past decades has brought forth.

in many countries

It matched it to a career of Gomez, and also to the development of the VfB, that these last moments were in the second class instead. His professional debut, against Chelsea in the Champions League first knockout round in 2004, he stood a total of nine minutes on the field, followed by a steep climb. The led him to three German Championships with Stuttgart and Munich, two Cup victories and a total of 78 games in the national team. He played at three European and two world cups, was champion and top scorer in Turkey and met a total of breathtaking 336 Times, of which 31 Times for the DFB-Eleven.

but he passed his peak at some point, the steep climb was followed by a slower, but hardly striving descent. Of 2013 way out of the League for Fiorentina in the Italian Serie A, where he remained somewhat unsuccessful, and after a stint at Besiktas Istanbul back to Germany for VfL Wolfsburg. Later, he landed back in the VfB, where it all once started, and he gave his farewell in the second League.

in fact, it fit equally to the career of Gomez and to the development of the VfB, that is exactly with this game, the traditional club of the jump back in the class succeeded. Club and team have developed in the past months, which is significantly Positive. Also, Gomez has played his part. He was always there when he was needed, and fretted to the coach, not Once, when the had him on the bench. Despite his now almost 35 years, relatively high football age, he showed power and was working week to week for the common cause.

A good reputation

Even Gomez suffered his career with a bad reputation. He was not a stone-cold clippers, no filigree nice player, not a tireless worker, not a lightning-fast power machine. But he was always one who was in the service of the team. The stand is often where it was for the opponent uncomfortable. The for his spectacular shot was known, but it is also very important goals from seemingly impossible positions, or with parts of the body, which are actually suitable not to score goals.