FILE PHOTO: Bundesliga relegation playoff first leg – VfB Stuttgart vs Union Berlin – Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart, Germany – May 23, 2019 Mario Gomez from VfB Stuttgart looks dejected after the game REUTERS / Andreas Gebert
(Reuters) – Mario Gomez drew the curtain on his career with a goal on Sunday when the former German international scored a goal in VfB Stuttgart’s 1-3 loss to Darmstadt.
The 34-year-old striker helped the team to automatic promotion to the Bundesliga after a season in the second division by taking second place with champions Arminia Bielefeld.
“It has always been my dream after such a great career that I could not have imagined giving something back to Stuttgart,” said Gomez here on the Stuttgart website
“I am very grateful to VfB and it is nice that I can say goodbye with this great success. It was my last mission. ”
Gomez, who returned to Stuttgart in 2018, also worked for Bayern Munich, Fiorentina, Besiktas and Wolfsburg and recorded 319 goals and 72 assists from almost 600 games in all competitions.
In his first season at Stuttgart, Gomez won the Bundesliga crown in the 2006/07 season before moving to Bayern in 2009, where he won two championship titles, two German cups and the Champions League.
He scored 31 goals in 78 games for the national team, but missed World Cup success in 2014 due to an injury-ridden season.
Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Edited by Peter Rutherford
.
