Quotes from Mario Gomez

I don't measure my performances in goals any more, it's more important that my team-mates see how hard I work for them.

The rotation system at Bayern makes it nearly impossible to play week after week, even when you're putting in some top performances.

Sometimes you'll go up against keepers like Casillas - the 'penalty killer,' as many of us call him. Other times, there's that one defender that, for 90 minutes, just destroys you. There is one in particular who will always stand out in my mind. Nemanja Vidic.

If for half a year you only get 10 minutes to play from the bench, then you have no rhythm.

We have to win if we want to be champions.

Winning is why we play football.

Between 2008 and 2010 I exhausted myself because I wanted to please everyone.

I came to Munich full of confidence, with plenty of energy, and really looking forward to it, in a way I don't think I'd had in my career before.

It's tough to leave one of the greatest clubs in the world.

For me, the most important thing is to be part of the team and contribute to the club's success with my performances.

Being gay is no longer a taboo subject in Germany.

Scoring a goal is an explosion of feelings. It's there immediately - bam! Before you kick the ball, you feel like you're 200 kilos. Then the ball leaves your foot, goes through the air and ripples the net. And for that moment, you're weightless.

As a striker, your job is mostly to forget. When you have someone like Vidic marking you, and it's misery for 89 minutes, all you have to do is forget everything. Forget the 89 minutes. Because in the 90th minute, you might finally get your chance. I have been pretty good at this in my career.

Bayern do not depend on any individual players.

Obviously, it's my goal to be the top scorer in the Bundesliga, but it wouldn't be a disaster if I didn't achieve that.

My dream is to win something here in Italy and I won't talk about scoring a specific number of goals. I just want to do the best I can.

You score the winner against a tough opponent and you still get heaped on.

Winning the cannon was a childhood dream.

Scoring from a metre out is just as beautiful as lobbing a goalkeeper from the halfway line.

If I become a European champion, I don't care whether I have absolute recognition or not.

I have played for many clubs, and for many managers, and been through many highs and lows. But one thing has never changed. And that's the feeling of scoring a goal.

A World Cup in Brazil is the greatest event in which a footballer can play.

What matters and what remains are the titles you win with a team. League and Cup, that's what matters.

At 26, you're in your prime as a striker. And in the mid-20s you're more mature, you have experience in game-deciding situations, you stay relaxed.