Fiorentina, Mario Gomez: "Florence I am part of you now. It was Guardiola who suggested Fiorentina"

The German centre forward was introduced to the fans, greeting them in Italian and then going on to explain his decision: "I am here because the fans are terrific and they play good football here. It was Pep who suggested I come here"

The Della Valle family have pulled it off, Mario Gomez, has whipped up the fans' enthusiasm in Florence. They poured into the Stadio Artemio Franchi to catch a glimpse of the new centre forward who is destined to push Fiorentina even higher. Sporting Director Prade introduced the former Bayern centre forward with pride and stressed the great effort the Della Valle family had made to secure his signature.

FIRST WORDS — Gomez was doing his best to win friends from the very start and had prepared a brief speech in Italian: "Ciao ragazzi, now I'm a Fiorentina player and I'm very pleased about it." He then switched to German. "But I'll try to learn Italian as soon as possible and that will make interviews easier. When I was in Germany I was aware of the enthusiasm you Italians have for football. When I realised it was time for me to leave Bayern the choice was between Spain and Italy. I chose Florence because of the energy and passion of the fans."  

SOUND ADVICE — "I am curious about taking on a new challenge after winning everything there was to win with Bayern. Guardiola was among those who advised me sign for Fiorentina, on account of the great, attacking football played here, which suits me down to the ground. The city is spectacular and that played a part in my decision, but what is more important is the athletic aspect. I had all I needed at Bayern but what's more important for me is to play and I can do that here consistently. It's my dream to win something here in Italy, even if I haven't set myself a target as regards goals. I just hope I can score as many as possible. Did I speak to Toni? No, just to Guardiola, who, as I told you, said great things about Montella".