How Mario Gomez Restricts Germany

Mario Gomez is something of an enigma, appearing unplayable and prolific at times and yet appearing lost and absent in others. After seeing him against Portugal there are doubts to his suitability in this German side, doubts which lead to concern that he restricts this German side dramatically, and in doing so, will deny the German's the opportunity to win this summer.

In the game against Portugal on Saturday, Mario Gomez scored the vital goal which gave Germany a important result. It was a massive goal for him personally too; in 2008 he missed a chance from near enough on the line and Saturday's goal perhaps puts that ghost behind him. His journey back to the starting XI has been difficult and perhaps his inclusion was only because of Klose’s injuries than Gomez himself. Yet as Klose enters the twilight of his career at 34, Gomez is 26, seemingly entering the peak of his career, it would appear that Gomez is the future of this side. However, does Gomez represent the best option for Germany, after watching him a lot this season, and particularly on Saturday, I believe there must be worries and doubts about his inclusion in the starting XI.


Germany's evolution


German football has evolved in the past decade into a high tempo, counter attacking side, consisting of speed, guile, fluidity and ruthlesseness, as the evidenced from the World Cup in South Africa. In the past 12-18 months Joachim Lowe has sought to evolve the side into a more possession based style, where they take more control of the game. This is understandable; as the quality in their side has risen, many sides now try to be more reactive than proactive in their approach to play against them. This was seen Saturday with how Portugal defended. Portugal's performance was in fact, regardless of what the clichéd & ignorant pundits believed, a very well organised and disciplined performance, who did a good job of restricting chances for Germany. As more sides decide to defend deeper against the better sides, the better sides need to improve their ability to break these sides down. The evolution of German football has to now take what they have developed and put it into another model, which consists of knowing what to do when you have 60% of the ball. Watching the game last night showed the problems that Germany will face when trying to break sides down with Mario Gomez in the side.

Gomez - a classic forward


Gomez is your classic centre forward; strong, tall and ruthless in both the air and with his feet when the ball is in the area. In England we would say he was a perfect English forward. Yet my problem and concern for both Germany and his club Bayern is, how relevant is this type of player to the modern game? You will argue about  how I can believe this based on how prolific he has been this season, yet after seeing the game against Portugal, my impression is that Gomez restricts the flow of the German attack of which has defined Germany in the past four years. 


Before Gomez scored he offered very little for his side, and thus restricted the sides opportunity to score. His goal allows many to hide and ignore his poor performance generally and Lowe has a major decision to see if he sticks with Gomez or opts for the man who suits his style more. Lowe’s use of Klose since being the national sides coach has enabled the attacking play of Germany to incorporate interchanges of play between the attacking quadruple which creates space for others to exploit. 


When Klose plays for Germany, his movement creates space for others, which is why Muller was able to score so many in the World Cup. Watching the game against Portugal was frustrating as Gomez rarely, if ever, moved outside of the length of the pitch between the six yard box. He restricted space for others by playing so static which led to Germany being very predictable in their approach and build up play. His lack of mobility was easy to defend against, he never drops deep to receive, which would make the centre backs have to think of staying or passing him on, which in turn could create space for a Muller or Podolski to exploit behind the defence. I cannot help but refer to Barcelona when discussing how to break deep defences down, they play this tactic so well, creating space centrally for wide players to exploit. Yet while Gomez stands still, he is not helping anyone, only hindering. The goal itself came from a deflection which wrong footed the defence, although it was a good finish, did not instill in me a belief that this guy can be the key for Germany to win the tournament.


Other instances of static forwards

There are many players who I think of who restrict a side wishing to play in a certan, defined and ultimately fluid style.Barcelona’s capture of Zlatan was supposed to give them the physical threat which the side lacked, instead it caused nothing but problems, especially in regards to his lack of mobility. When Zlatan played Barca were unable to penetrate areas which they usually seek to exploit. Whereas Messi creates space for others as well as himself, Zlatan did not flow and interchange positions in order to move defenders and open gaps. 


In my opinion, as the game has evolved, the need for movement has become a key factor in the top levels of the game, a Gomez or Zlatan are great players, yet they are one dimensional in what they do, although effective in many games, good defenders and good tactics can restrict the influence of these predictable players. The same can be said for Man City, whose use of Dzeko, another rigid centre forward, possessing immense ability for sure, yet lacking flexibility to move outside the constraints of the 18 yard box perimeter, restricted the effectiveness of City to play their open and fluid attacking style. When it is Aguero as the striker, he roams to both wings, he create and exploits, and defences find it hard to track him. 


The top players are becoming master of this now, being able to drag defenders away, creating space for others, and in a game where space is becoming less, smart players, coaches and teams are needing to find ways to find space.I would argue that Didier Drogba is one of the best at playing this way, he evolved his game from a classic number 9 target man, to a more dynamic forward, whose movement into wide areas created space for Lampard to exploit, which produced many goals. Gomez will need to adapt his game like that of Drogba to improve his influence in the biggest games. 


The target man is redundant? 

Against better sides, you need more than one threat, this is what Barca have and what Germany have too in Muller,Podolski and Ozil. When playing behind Klose, he opens space for them to attack. Gomez does not, and on viewing of this performance, Germany will not produce the creativity required to score many goals like in 2010. I understand that sides are playing deeper now to negate the threat that the side poses, yet this makes it even more imperative that the attacking four become more fluid and varied in their movement. I worry that Germany will become similar to Bayern, in that they become a rigid 4-2-3-1.

In my opinion the future for Germany is not Gomez but Marco Reus. Believe me when I say that this player is special and with his arrival at Dortmund this summer, expect to see him continue the form he had at Monchengladbach. Reus will move deeper, into channels and thus create space for Muller, Podolski and Ozil to exploit. Perhaps this tournament is one too soon for him, yet the future looks very bright for German football, they are continually bringing in more quality in Kroos, Schurlle and Gotze in particular. This will not be Germany’s last chance at success yet anything but success this summer would be deemed failure and Lowe needs to consider whether Gomez or Klose will play at the point of his attack. For me, it is Klose, he gives the players around him what they need and what they are used to. Although 34, Klose plays like a modern forward suiting the needs of the modern game. Whereas Gomez continues to be the classic centre forward, which in my opinion is not benefiting but restricting the flow and effectiveness of the side. Gomez right now is more akin to the “plan b” approach and until he changes his game, he will not find himself in the starting XI in the coming years.


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