Heynckes irked by Gomez criticism

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes says he is baffled by the criticism that Mario Gomez has received since the end of last season.

The Germany international was one of the scapegoats for Bayern’s failure to defeat Chelsea in the Champions League final in May, a game the Bavarians lost on penalties.

Heynckes feels that the criticism of Gomez is unwarranted and that the Germany international is being judged by impossible standards.

“He has an outstanding strike rate,” Heynckes told Kicker. “He delivered in the European Championship. I cannot understand the discussion surrounding him.

“The perfect striker does not exist. Even Gerd Mueller, the top scorer in our nation’s history, was not perfect.”

Following the disappointment of coming second to Borussia Dortmund in both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal last season, Heynckes is looking forward to the new campaign and says that he has been impressed by his players in pre-season.

“It makes me optimistic when I see us working as we are, not only on the pitch, but even in the gym,” the former Real Madrid coach said. “We will have a better team than last year.”