After a disappointing campaign last season, Gomez returned after summer with a great desire to get back to action. After a holiday he returned to Italy full of motivation to return to the field: “I wanted to come back after summer in good condition and play a role in every match from the start of the season and help the team,” he said. “The good thing is that I feel that I am in peak condition. I don’t feel scared that something will happen to my knee when I go in for a tackle.” Gomez is fully aware that he will improve with every match: “I’m becoming sharper with each match, I’m almost back to my best.”
Gomez is realistic about his chances of a recall to the Germany squad: “During the World Cup you could see that Jogi Löw has more than 11 players and that competition for places is extremely intense. The level in Germany is high; he can rotate his squad with minimal fuss. The competition makes the players want to improve in order to retain their place in the team.”
Mario Gomez has been using table tennis as a therapy and seems to be reaping the rewards at the moment. Success, scoring and the associated adrenaline rush are almost like a drug for the strike. The Germany international was injured for over 200 days and almost forgot how it felt to score goals. He needed to get his fix once again. The small and light white balls have helped him out. Gomez bought a table tennis table and the rest is history.
In an interview with kicker, he spoke about the success of his unusual recovery method. “Whilst I was suffering with my knee injury I would play against my girlfriend or friends whilst sitting down,” he said. And why did he do it? “In order to experience scoring again. It's a fantastic feeling and I wanted to keep it up.”
"I knew that I would score again soon"
Since then Gomez has achieved success with a bigger and more challenging ball once again and enjoyed the feeling that scoring brought once again. In the game against Cagliari. Gomez finished off a counterattack to make it 3-0 in the 69th minute. It was the injury plagued DFB-Team player’s first league goal for more than eight months. Gomez was relieved to return to the scoresheet: “I am feeling better now and knew that I would score again soon.”
"Not many games for Fiorentina; missed out on the Cup Final and the World Cup"
His first Serie A goal of the season marked the end of a difficult period full of injuries, setbacks and disappointments. In 2013 Gomez signed for Fiorentina from FC Bayern and was greatly received by the supporters. After winning numerous trophies in Germany, Gomez wanted to experience something new: A new language, a new culture. It was time to try something different.
It started well for Gomez in Italy, but injuries soon struck: “In the last 16 months I was often searching for a football good who would help me, but nothing happened. In the end I didn’t get too play as many games for Fiorentina as I wanted. I missed out on the Cup Final and the World Cup.”
"I feel that I am in peak condition"
After a disappointing campaign last season, Gomez returned after summer with a great desire to get back to action. After a holiday he returned to Italy full of motivation to return to the field: “I wanted to come back after summer in good condition and play a role in every match from the start of the season and help the team,” he said. “The good thing is that I feel that I am in peak condition. I don’t feel scared that something will happen to my knee when I go in for a tackle.” Gomez is fully aware that he will improve with every match: “I’m becoming sharper with each match, I’m almost back to my best.”
Gomez is realistic about his chances of a recall to the Germany squad: “During the World Cup you could see that Jogi Löw has more than 11 players and that competition for places is extremely intense. The level in Germany is high; he can rotate his squad with minimal fuss. The competition makes the players want to improve in order to retain their place in the team.”
