Super Mario returns! Gomez scores again to all but end Romas Scudetto dream The former Bayern man has been a disaster since moving to Florence, but has now hit three goals in his last two games while virtually gifting Juventus the Scudetto For two seasons at the beginning of the current decade, Mario Gomez was just about the most prolific penalty box striker in the world. While Lionel Messi was busy breaking record after record on his way to a consistent haul of Ballon d’Or crowns, the German was doing his best to keep pace with Barcelona’s little genius. In total, between the start of 2010-11 and the close of the Euro 2012 finals less than two years later, Gomez netted a phenomenal 93 goals for club and country. But for the era-defining form of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it would have been considered one of the most impressive goalscoring spells in a generation. Following Bayern Munich’s decision to move the giant striker on in the summer of 2013, Fiorentina were thought to have made a magnificent move in adding a seemingly guaranteed goal-getter to their ranks. But injuries have helped to hamper Gomez’s time in Italy, leaving him with a record of just five goals in 31 appearances over his two campaigns with the Viola… until this week. On Wednesday he struck twice to see Vincenzo Montella’s side past Atalanta and into the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. And four days later he struck again, netting the crucial opening goal in a 1-1 draw which seems likely to bring an end to Roma’s title hopes. The Giallorossi have been struggling to get on top in games in recent weeks, and had drawn four of their previous six league fixtures heading to the Artemio Franchi on Sunday. But Rudi Garcia’s men had to settle for a point once more as Gomez gave Fiorentina fans reason to believe that he may finally be turning into the signing they believed he would be 18 months ago. His goal, a reaction finish to turn home David Pizarro’s shot from distance, wasn’t quite enough to earn the home side the win, but it will likely end Romas hopes of a Scudetto push as they trail Juventus by seven points. With Juve winning once more on Sunday afternoon, it was up to the capital club to prove they could stay in touch by claiming full marks against tough opponents. But once more they fell short, just as they have recently against Sassuolo, Milan, Lazio and Palermo. Those 10 points dropped in the last seven games have made the title Juve’s to lose. Fiorentina showed they have quality, but for me we didnt play like we can, admitted Garcia afterwards, although he remained positive. In the second half we were ambitious, we created chances and we found the goal. That reaction was important. For Gomez’s part, he will want to be remembered for more than just the man who denied Roma. Now that he has three goals in four days under his belt to add to the five in 18 months he had previously managed, it is time for him to really kick on. The man who scored 80 goals in two seasons for Bayern, including 13 in one sensational 2011-12 Champions League campaign, now has the chance to show everyone that the real Super Mario has returned.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 05:48:22 +0000
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