2016 was an exciting year for Mario Gomez. He was Besiktas’ top goalscorer last year and won the Turkish Super League with the club. Then, he played for Germany during the European Championship finals but unfortunately couldn’t feature in the semi-final against France due to injury. Eventually, he returned to the Bundesliga to play for VfL Wolfsburg who currently have just ten points after 13 games. VfL Wolfsburg play FC Bayern München away on Saturday at 15:30 CET.
Mario Gomez spoke to DFB in an exclusive interview about the situation at VfL Wolfsburg, his experiences in Turkey and the record of the Germany national team.
DFB.de: Mr Gomez, it’s not ideal to be playing FC Bayern München when you so desperately need points. Or do you think you can get something positive out of the game?
Gomez: The positive thing is that we have nothing to lose. In our situation, we have to be picking up points from other teams. But playing away at FC Bayern München is a difficult challenge.
DFB.de: This will be the first time you face Bayern München ever since you left the club in 2013. Will it be a special game for you?
Gomez: Of course it will be something special. I played for FC Bayern during my most successful years. I will always be grateful to the club. I think FC Bayern München is the most successful club in the world. I always feel at home there even whilst I am living in Wolfsburg. I still have a lot of friends at the club and I always hope they do well, except for when we play them!
DFB.de: Wolfsburg’s league position doesn’t reflect the quality in the squad. Why do you think that you’re in this situation?
Gomez: There are so many possible reasons behind it, but sometimes it is hard to explain. We are definitely lacking in confidence. Everyone can see that. But from experience, I know that the little things can completely change a whole game. I really believe in that and I’m working hard in training every day.
DFB.de: Is there a lot of quality within the squad?
Gomez: Yes, we should be a lot higher in the table. We should be competing with the likes of Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund. We have to prove that we have this potential. However, sometimes it’s difficult to live up to these expectations.
DFB.de: The club have said that head coach Valerien Ismael will improve things in the long term. Why did they think this?
Gomez: Everything starts from fresh when a new manager takes over. Every player believes they will get their chances. A new manager brings momentum.
DFB.de: Your results suggest that things haven’t really improved.
Gomez: That’s not always the manager’s fault. Us players have to set things straight too. We can’t just sit back and say the manager is doing everything wrong, we are responsible too. Valerien Ismael is doing well, he pushes us and has a good way about him. He just lacks a bit of managerial experience. It’s important that the rest of the team help him and adjust to the style of football he wants us to play.
DFB.de: You’re having to deal with a lot of criticism at Wolfsburg. You were constantly asked when you were going to score your first goal for seven weeks. Did this make you nervous?
Gomez: I don’t play football to score every single week. I would be just as unhappy with our current situation even if I had already scored five goals.
DFB.de: Have you changed your opinion on things since you were 24 years old?
Gomez: Yes. A 24-year old always looks ahead to the future. I’ll be 32 by the end of the season and just want to live in the moment. I don’t think it matters who is scoring the goals. Most importantly, we just need to be creating more goalscoring chances, otherwise we’ll never get there.
DFB.de: You won the league with Besiktas in Turkey last year. Did last season do you the world of good?
Gomez: It was a very important year, not only because we were successful, but because I was finally enjoying playing football again. It did me good to be out on the pitch playing again, both for club and country.
DFB.de: The fans in Turkey are football mad. Were you able to even walk down the street without getting too much attention?
Gomez: Yeah of course, it wasn’t as bad as people think. I could go wherever I wanted. Of course there were certain areas where all the youngsters were football mad, however everything was quite relaxed in the town centre. You could go shopping, eat in restaurants and cafes and do whatever you wanted really.
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2016 was an exciting year for Mario Gomez. He was Besiktas’ top goalscorer last year and won the Turkish Super League with the club. Then, he played for Germany during the European Championship finals but unfortunately couldn’t feature in the semi-final against France due to injury. Eventually, he returned to the Bundesliga to play for VfL Wolfsburg who currently have just ten points after 13 games. VfL Wolfsburg play FC Bayern München away on Saturday at 15:30 CET.
Mario Gomez spoke to DFB in an exclusive interview about the situation at VfL Wolfsburg, his experiences in Turkey and the record of the Germany national team.
DFB.de: Mr Gomez, it’s not ideal to be playing FC Bayern München when you so desperately need points. Or do you think you can get something positive out of the game?
Gomez: The positive thing is that we have nothing to lose. In our situation, we have to be picking up points from other teams. But playing away at FC Bayern München is a difficult challenge.
DFB.de: This will be the first time you face Bayern München ever since you left the club in 2013. Will it be a special game for you?
Gomez: Of course it will be something special. I played for FC Bayern during my most successful years. I will always be grateful to the club. I think FC Bayern München is the most successful club in the world. I always feel at home there even whilst I am living in Wolfsburg. I still have a lot of friends at the club and I always hope they do well, except for when we play them!
DFB.de: Wolfsburg’s league position doesn’t reflect the quality in the squad. Why do you think that you’re in this situation?
Gomez: There are so many possible reasons behind it, but sometimes it is hard to explain. We are definitely lacking in confidence. Everyone can see that. But from experience, I know that the little things can completely change a whole game. I really believe in that and I’m working hard in training every day.
DFB.de: Is there a lot of quality within the squad?
Gomez: Yes, we should be a lot higher in the table. We should be competing with the likes of Bayern München and Borussia Dortmund. We have to prove that we have this potential. However, sometimes it’s difficult to live up to these expectations.
DFB.de: The club have said that head coach Valerien Ismael will improve things in the long term. Why did they think this?
Gomez: Everything starts from fresh when a new manager takes over. Every player believes they will get their chances. A new manager brings momentum.
DFB.de: Your results suggest that things haven’t really improved.
Gomez: That’s not always the manager’s fault. Us players have to set things straight too. We can’t just sit back and say the manager is doing everything wrong, we are responsible too. Valerien Ismael is doing well, he pushes us and has a good way about him. He just lacks a bit of managerial experience. It’s important that the rest of the team help him and adjust to the style of football he wants us to play.
DFB.de: You’re having to deal with a lot of criticism at Wolfsburg. You were constantly asked when you were going to score your first goal for seven weeks. Did this make you nervous?
Gomez: I don’t play football to score every single week. I would be just as unhappy with our current situation even if I had already scored five goals.
DFB.de: Have you changed your opinion on things since you were 24 years old?
Gomez: Yes. A 24-year old always looks ahead to the future. I’ll be 32 by the end of the season and just want to live in the moment. I don’t think it matters who is scoring the goals. Most importantly, we just need to be creating more goalscoring chances, otherwise we’ll never get there.
DFB.de: You won the league with Besiktas in Turkey last year. Did last season do you the world of good?
Gomez: It was a very important year, not only because we were successful, but because I was finally enjoying playing football again. It did me good to be out on the pitch playing again, both for club and country.
DFB.de: The fans in Turkey are football mad. Were you able to even walk down the street without getting too much attention?
Gomez: Yeah of course, it wasn’t as bad as people think. I could go wherever I wanted. Of course there were certain areas where all the youngsters were football mad, however everything was quite relaxed in the town centre. You could go shopping, eat in restaurants and cafes and do whatever you wanted really.
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DFB.de: You wanted to come back to Germany after playing for ACF Fiorentina and Besiktas. Why do you prefer the Bundesliga?
Gomez: The most important thing for me is to be near my family and friends. I played abroad for three years and you always have to spend around three hours travelling to visit your loved ones. I just wanted to be able to spend more time with my family.
DFB.de: You also played for Germany over the course of the last year. Was playing in the European Championships a positive experience despite your injury that prevented you from featuring in the semi-final?
Gomez: We had a great squad, a great time and we played some really food football. It’s a real shame we were knocked out though, because we had potential to win. It was also a shame that I got injured ahead of the semi-final. We can’t expect however to automatically win the competition just because we won the World Cup. Portugal deserved to win. We have to accept that and we want to do well in Russia in 2018.
DFB.de: There were a few discussions beforehand about whether Germany really needed a centre-forward. You nipped these in the bud with your good performances. Was that satisfying?
Gomez: Not really. I play football for myself, not for anyone else. Of course it’s nice when you can make the fans happy by winning and scoring, but I’m just happy to make any contribution I can.
DFB.de: Really?
Gomez: Yes. I do everything I can to help the team. I always try my best in training and I give the young players tips if they go blank. I have just tried to stay positive. We all wanted to win the European Championships and we came so close.
DFB.de: The Confederations Cup will take place in Russia in 2017. Joachim Löw says he has a lot of young players in mind who he would like to take. Would you like to go?
Gomez: I feel a bit like I’m 20 years old again after being out through injury for about two years. So I think I would fit in well with all the youngsters (laughs). No, only joking. I haven’t spoken to the manager about it. We’ll see what he has in mind nearer the time.
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