Mario Gomez has identified his toughest ever opponent.

The VfL Wolfsburg striker has come up against many word-class defenders during his career which has spanned almost 15 years and has seen him score goals for such clubs as VfB Stuttgart, Bayern Munich, Fiorentina and Besiktas.

But Gomez, 31, says no centre-back has been as commanding against him as former Manchester United star Nemanja Vidic.

“Other times, there's that one defender that, for 90 minutes, just destroys you," Gomez wrote for The Players' Tribune.

“There is one in particular who will always stand out in my mind.

“Nemanja Vidić.

“I don't think I'll ever forget playing against him when he was in his prime at Manchester United, or whenever Germany and Serbia went head-to-head. For 90 minutes, he'd destroy me. To this day I don't understand how a 6′ 3″, nearly 90-kilo Serbian man could be everywhere at once.

“It seemed like everywhere I went, he was there already waiting for me. I'd turn right, and he'd be there. I'd turn left, and he'd already be cutting me off. Even if I managed to pull a move on him, I'd look up a second later and he'd be back in front of me, blocking my shot.

“But you wait for that one moment — that moment when the ball is sailing in and, just as quickly, it leaves your foot. And right then, you know it's going in.

“As a striker, your job is mostly to forget. When you have someone like Vidić 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."