The 26-year old was subjected to heavy criticism, despite having a perfect start to the tournament.
The Bayern Munich forward scored a staggering 41 goals in 52 appearances for his club. He was the second highest scorer in the UEFA Champions League with 12 goals, only two behind Lionel Messi.
The striker has his own unique style of play; he likes to sit on the shoulders of opposition’s centre halves. Instead of closing them down and running like a mad man, Mario uses his positional skills to make intelligent runs behind
the centre backs. He plays more like a traditional centre forward who likes to sit deep in the oppositions half.
Recently the German target man got a lot of stick from his club’s legend Mehmet Scholl. The former Bayern Munich midfielder accused Mario of being immobile and not working hard when he is not in possession of the ball.
Scholl knew what impact his comments would have on the striker’s performance. The German number 23 states that he did not need his critics to motivate him; he was already fired up by the pressure.
“Such a motivation injection [the critics] I don't need, the pressure was high already,” Gomez is quoted as saying in an interview.
Gomez further states that the criticism was unwarranted; he thinks his commitment to Die Nationalelf’s should not be doubted. He also said he does not want people to slam him after his brace against Netherlands.
“It's a pity that these things happen. I simply try to do even more and to always give my best,” he added.
Although Gomez denied that he was unaffected by his critics but the difference in his performance against the Dutch was evident. In this game the Bayern man was tracked back when his team did not have the possession and he was
seen charging at the defenders to close them down. Scholl would be able to spot the increase in the 26-year old’s work rate.
Sometimes it is the critics who manage to get the best out of you, and Gomez just needed those words from Scholl to fire him up. His performance against Bert Van Marwijk’s side has surely made him the best striker in the world
ahead of Van Persie.
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