Could Striker Mario Gomez be leaving Bayern Munich in the summer?

German giants FC Bayern Munich are currently playing one of their best-ever season with the Bundesliga title wrapped-up and still chances to win the UEFA Champions League and the German Cup, but there are players who lost out on the campaign with the biggest loser being striker Mario Gomez.

The 27 year old German international went into the season as the striker number one ahead of new signing Mario Mandzukic from VfL Wolfsburg and seasoned Claudio Pizarro, who returned from Werder Bremen. But injury and good performances from especially Mandzukic and the team player Pizarro have pushed Gomez back in the pecking order.

And that isn't to the liking of Mario Gomez, who scored a hattrick yesterday in just six minutes against VfL Wolfsburg in the German Cup semifinal, but only after coming on as a substitute for Mandzukic.

only a year ago Mario Gomez extended his contract at Bayern Munich until 2016 at a time where he was scoring regularly, but the criticism over the way he plays has never died down and now with Mandzukic there many say that Gomez's time in Munich could be over in the summer.

"There were always expressions of interest in the services of Mario," Gomez agent Uli Ferber told German tabloid Bild. "They were during his years at Stuttgart, right before his move to Bayern Munich, and right ahead of his most recent contract renewal. But also right now at this point in time."

So as expected there are clubs very much interested to sign Gomez with especially English Premier League clubs Manchester City and Chelsea FC potential destinations as they look at options upfront, but also other EPL sides besides clubs from Spain and Italy could be interested in the tall striker.

But Bayern Munich are not reacting at all, knowing that the situation for Gomez isn't the best but that is what competition does within a team...

Bayern Munich's pre-season injury problems

German giants FC Bayern Munich after two seasons without a title are preparing for a season in which the Bavarians can lift at least one trophy after only finishing second last season in three competitions - UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup. The main aim is to win back the Bundesliga title, which in the last couple of years has been won by Borussia Dortmund.

The club has brought in a number of players to strengthen the overall squad, but now weeks into the pre-season there are injury worries to numerous players which has weakened the team. The latest to join the casualty list were Mario Gomez and Bastian Schweinsteiger over the weekend at the Liga Total Cup in Hamburg after injuries to David Alaba, Rafinha, Diego Contento and Claudio Pizarro.

Especially the injury to Mario Gomez could hit the club hard, then last season he scored 26 goals just alone in the Bundesliga. The striker is out with a foot injury and could miss upto three Bundesliga games. A potential replacement in seasoned Claudio Pizarro, who returned to Munich, is also out with hip problems leaving new Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic alone upfront.

Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is hoping for a better second half to the year 2012 after numerous injuries and failures, but again the Germany star is out with muscular problems. It is not known when he will be back.

Further the three side-backs David Alaba, Rafinha and Diego Contento are out. Young Alaba suffered a fatigue fracture, Rafinha has torn his ligaments while Diego Contento has bone problems.

All these injuries are forcing coach Jupp Heynckes to try out new combinations, then over the weekend Bayern Munich will face Borussia Dortmund in the German Super Cup and then the Bundesliga kicks-off a week later.

Gomez extends Bayern Munich contract until 2016

Germany striker Mario Gomez has extended his contract at FC Bayern Munich until 2016. This was disclosed a day after the Bundesliga giants beat Olympique Marseille 2-0 to move into the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League.

In a statement Gomez said, "As I've always said, FC Bayern is a magnificent club, where I feel good and where I believe I have the best sporting perspective, so I'm delighted we've agreed a contract extension. I'm convinced we’re set for great things here in the years to come. I want to play my part in that."

The 26 year old striker was signed by Bayern Munich in 2009 for a record German transfer fee of 35 Million Euros from VfB Stuttgart, but it took Gomez a while to settle down. Only in the second year he started to show his old class like in Stuttgart and was top scorer with 28 goals last season. This season he again is jointly top with Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on 23 goals.

Gomez has not only established himself at Bayern Munich but also in the German national team. The son of a Spanish father and a German mother still has had a childhood dream to play for FC Barcelona one day, but for the moment he is happy to remain in Bavaria.

"In recent years, Mario Gomez has developed into one of Europe's best strikers,” said FC Bayern's Director of Sports Christian Nerlinger, "we're delighted he'll continue to score his goals for FC Bayern. We've now concluded contract extensions with Mario and other current internationals, securing a long-term foundation for FC Bayern over the coming years."

Besides Gomez other key players like Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm and Bastian Schweinsteiger also have contracts until 2016.

The German Bundesliga season so far

The 2011/12 German Bundesliga season is still very young. Only 5 rounds have been played, but there have already been a number of major surprises and upsets besides things one would expect. Bayern Munich lead the table along with Werder Bremen, while Bundesliga founding member Hamburger SV is at the bottom with only a point to their name.

That Bayern Munich head the table isn't that big a surprise, then the record champions have invested heavily in new players to correct last seasons weaknesses. It seems to be working under new coach Jupp Heynckes though the club lost their first match unluckily 0-1 against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Thereafter the Bavarians have been on a winning streak - 1-0 in Wolfsburg, 5-0 against Hamburger SV, 3-0 in Kaiserlautern und then the highlight so far, a 7-0 trashing of SC Freiburg at the Allianz Arena. 16 goals, none against in those four matches. An impressive figure so early in the season and Bayern Munich can still get even better, then superstar Arjen Robben has often been missing due to injuries.

Also positive to note is that teams like Werder Bremen, Borussia Mönchengladbach and FC Schalke 04 have been able to find themselves in the upper third of the table after spending most of last season in and around the relegation zone. Gladbach actually needed the playoffs against Bochum to stay in the Bundesliga top tier.

Defending champions Borussia Dortmund started their campaign with an impressive 3-1 defeat of Hamburger SV, but soon it became clear that HSV isn't going to be the yardstick for this season. Thereafter Dortmund has had a mixed season which culminated in a 1-2 home defeat against promoted Hertha BSC Berlin. The club from the capital meanwhile has been doing fine so far with a mid-table place, but FC Augsburg, who also gained promotion, have been struggling, have no wins so far, only two points to their name and are in 16th place.

Clubs like FSV Mainz 05 and SC Freiburg have been struggling compared to last season. Both teams have lost a number of influential players, while Freiburg also has a new coach in Marcus Sorg.

The big disappointment of this Bundesliga season so far has been Hamburger SV. Under young coach Michael Oenning and the new Director of Sports Frank Arnesen the club has to rebuild their squad as the management had to cut down on the clubs budget. Stars like Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ze Roberto, Frank Rost, Joris Mathijsen and Piotr Trochowski had to leave the club, while the club signed talented youngsters, five of them from Arnesen's former employers FC Chelsea.

The players who have caught the eye of the public so far are those from Bayern Munich, but especially striker Mario Gomez has been the player of the last few weeks. The Bayern striker has scored eight goals in the last three games and if he continues to score at this rate then Gerd Müllers record of 40 goals from the 1971/72 season could be in danger. Last season Super Mario scored 28 goals, now he continues where he left off.

After only five rounds of matches one thing is clear. The 2011/12 champions will either be Bayern Munich or they will have to be better then them. Their investments and the return of Jupp Heynckes has been working excellently so far. The reds are not only playing good football, but are also amongst goals and standing perfectly in defence. But teams like Werder Bremen, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and others will try to make it difficult for Bayern Munich. One can really look forward to the remainder of the Bundesliga season.

Bayern Munich's Mario Gomez is on fire!

German international Mario Gomez is currently on fire for his club FC Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga. The striker has scored eight goals in the first five matches of the season though he actually scored these eight goals in the last three matches.

Mario Gomez didn't score any goals in the first couple of games and then started scoring for the Bavarian. Gomez scored his first in a 5-0 win against Hamburger SV, then all three goals in a 3-0 away win 1.FC Kaiserslautern and then four goals in Bayern Munich's 7-0 demolition of SC Freiburg.

"Lets be realistic and not go overboard," Mario Gomez said. "I didn't score of my chances in the first couple of weeks, then suddenly nearly all shots are going in. Times will change again."

Currently he has an incredible average of 1,6 goals per game, which would mean Mario Gomez would score over 54 goals in 34 league games if he could keep it at this average. The Bundesliga record stands at 40 goals from the legendary Gerd Mueller who scored 40 goals in the 1971/72 season.

But if Mario Gomez continues to score at will as he has been in recent Bundesliga matches, then the Gerd Mueller record could be in real danger.

Mario Gomez & his lucky number 3

Footballers are a superstitious lot and often believe in things which cannot be explained, but it somehow seems to work for them. Just remember "Paul the Octopus" during the 2010 FIFA World Cup or footballer who take with them their good luck charm onto the field or wear their socks and shoes in a certain ritual. Now we have the story of striker Mario Gomez.

For FC Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez the number three was his own lucky number over the weekend. The German international, who wears the number 33 jersey at his club, scored all the three goals for Bayern Munich in a 3-0 Bundesliga win against Hanover 96 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday. And Gomez scored a goal for his club in the Bundesliga after more then six month's.

You think there are too many number three's in there already? It actually isn't the end of the story, which gets even more superstitious as Gomez after the match talking to the media said he was motivated by the rescued Chilean miners, who also believed in the number three! How? There were 33 miners stuck underground and the final rescue mission started three days before the match on Saturday after 69 days and there was a miner with the exact name of Mario Gomez, also saved amongst those 33 miners. 'Mario Gomez', the miner, was brought out as the ninth miner from the shaft and nine can only be calculated as three times three.

I know it sounds somehow funny and peculiar, but often we hear of these kind of stories which just cannot be explained and they seem to happen again and again...

Mourinho eyes German talent

Real Madrid's biggest signing of the summer so far has been that of Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho. And the "Special One" is looking to strengthen his squad ahead of a tough first season in Spain for him. While before the World Cup the focus seemed to be on English players with the likes of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Chelsea's Ashley Cole on top of the wish list, it now seems Mourinho is rather looking at young German talent to bring to the Bernabeu.

The names being linked with Real Madrid are that of midfielders Bastian Schweinsteiger, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil plus the surprise one of striker Mario Gomez. While in the case of Schweinsteiger it looks a lost cause as Bayern Munich are unlikely to release the 25 year old, who has come through the ranks at the Bavarian giants and has finally made the breakthrough; with Khedira it looks somewhat different. There it seems to be an issue of the transfer fee and modalities between Real Madrid and VfB Stuttgart. Real's first offer was said to be 8 Million Euros, while Stuttgart were willing to sell Khedira for 15 Million Euros. The follow-up offer is said to be higher at 10 Million Euros plus Dutch winger Royston Drenthe. But Stuttgart has denied any talks so far, while Khedira and his agent are said to have been in Madrid this week to have a look at the club and speak to Mourinho about his plans for the young midfielder. Here a transfer looks very much possible and at the end it will be an issue of money and modality.

But Mourinho isn't done with German players in signing Khedira. He also has set his sights on new midfield sensation Mesut Oezil. But Mourinho isn't the only one interested in Oezil. English Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal along with rivals FC Barcelona are also showing an interest in the Werder Bremen midfielder, whose contract is set to end in 2011. And Oezil seems to be interested to leave Germany and try his luck elsewhere. So if Bremen want to cash in on Oezil they will have to sell him this summer. But Bremen say they would rather retain Oezil and would try to renew his contract then sell him. But over the years Bremen has not been able to retain top talent who either move on to Bayern Munich or abroad.

The link of Mario Gomez and Real Madrid came as a major surprise to me. But for Mourinho there is a simple logic behind it. Living Real legend Raul is no longer a first eleven player and he would like to try his luck elsewhere. 33 year old Raul is said to have had concrete talks with German Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04, while his former Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster is interested to bring him to Turkey to play for Besiktas Istanbul. So Mourinho needs a potent replacement and Mario Gomez seems to have caught his eye. And to make it interesting for Gomez's club Bayern Munich Real are willing to offer Rafael van der Vaart as bait. One will have to see if Bayern are interested to sell Gomez, who started off well in Munich but towards the end of the season had no real chance under manager Louis van Gaal.

So far Real Madrid have been rather calm and quite in the transfer market, even though they have already spend 41 Million Euros on Ángel Di María (Benfica Lisbon, 25 Million), Pedro Léon (FC Getafe, 10 Million) and Sergio Canales (Racing Santander, 6 Million). But surely Mourinho will look to add some big names to his squad before the transfer period closes on August 31 and he might until then also offload some player who do not fit into his plans.