The Germany legend plays down the significance of the 41-year-old's dig at the striker for not working hard enough, claiming that it fired him on to prove doubters wrong
Franz Beckenbauer has taken the positives out of Mehmet Scholl's criticism of Mario Gomez, after the Germany striker continued his rich vein of goalscoring form in the 2-1 win over Netherlands on Wednesday.The former Bayern Munich midfielder was not impressed with the 26-year-old's work-rate in the 1-0 win against Portugal in die Mannschaft's opening game of Euro 2012 last week, despite being the match-winner, prompting him to air his thoughts in public.
However, Gomez, who did not agree with Scholl's views, made the 41-year-old eat humble pie as he scored a further two against Oranje to secure a vital three points in Group B for Germany, and Beckenbauer believes that the criticism acted as an incentive.
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GOLDEN GOMEZ? |
| 15/8 | Mario Gomez is 15/8 to be the top goalscorer at Euro 2012 with Paddy Power |
"Mehmet's thoughts after the Portugal game were very flippant, but he seems to have spurred on Gomez," the legendary Bayern and Germany captain told reporters.
"I remember I did a similar thing after the Champions League defeat to Lyon in 2001 [which ended 3-0]. We went on to win the final.
"I hope that Gomez can say similar things to Scholl after the [Euro 2012] final."
Germany just need a point in their last group match against Denmark to secure top spot in their pool.
