Early career Gomez started his career in 2001 with
Cruz Azul of the
Mexican Primera División on their second-division squad, and transferred to second-division team Aguilas Blancas de Puebla later that year. The following season, he returned to the Primera División with
Durango. However, playing opportunities were scarce for him there. The
Los Angeles Galaxy staff noticed him during a friendly match and he joined the team in September.
MLS Gomez broke his foot while on loan to the
Seattle Sounders of the
United Soccer Leagues, and recovery took a long time. When he was able to play again, he joined the
San Diego Sockers of the
Major Indoor Soccer League. He returned to the Galaxy for the 2005 season on a developmental contract, and played well enough to make it to the first team. His big chance came when
Landon Donovan was called up to the
national team. Donovan's absence gave Gomez many more starts at striker, and he was able to shine as a breakout goal-scorer. He scored the game-winning goal in the 2005
U.S. Open Cup Final, then helped the Galaxy to a rare Cup 'double' when they also won the 2005
MLS Cup. Gomez ended the 2005 season with eighteen goals scored for the Galaxy (in all matches), and was voted by the local L.A. media as the year's Most Valuable Player. Early in the 2006 season, Gomez was moved to the bench with then-coach
Steve Sampson. Sampson used Gomez as a midfielder to see if he could score goals running at defenses. After Sampson's firing, however, Gomez scored several times under new coach
Frank Yallop, and ended that season with five goals. In December 2006, Gomez was traded to the Colorado Rapids along with
Ugo Ihemelu in exchange for
Joe Cannon. He scored the first goal in the history of
Dick's Sporting Goods Park in his first game for Colorado, a 2–1 win over
D.C. United on April 7, 2007. Gomez tore his
ACL during training with the Rapids in September of that year and underwent a lengthy recovery process. Gomez was traded to
Kansas City Wizards in exchange for allocation money, a fourth round
2009 MLS SuperDraft pick and a first round 2009 MLS Supplemental Draft pick in September 2008. His only goal for the Wizards was an injury time winner against
San Jose Earthquakes, a must win game in their 2008 play-offs push.
Mexico in 2012 After being released by Kansas City in late 2009, Gomez signed with Mexican club
Puebla in January 2010. He scored ten goals in the 2010 Mexican season to tie for the lead for most goals; this feat marked the first time any American player led a foreign league in goals. He moved to
Pachuca in the summer 2010 window. Pachuca placed Gomez, along with its entire squad, on the transfer list. During the transfer window he moved along with teammate
Braulio Luna to
Estudiantes Tecos. Gomez scored his first goal for his new club in the second game of the Mexico Apertura season, coming in a 2–1 loss to San Luis. On August 19, Gomez scored the winner as a sub against his former club Pachuca. Cash-strapped Estudiantes Tecos were forced into selling Gomez to league rivals
Santos Laguna in December 2011. Gomez scored 11 goals in his first 12 appearances for the team across all competitions. With Santos Laguna's
2012 Clausura victory, Gomez became the first player to have won both the MLS Cup and the Primera División championship. In 2013, he moved to
Club Tijuana. After struggling with Tijuana, he was loaned to
Tigres UANL for the 2014–15 season. However, he ended the season poorly with only one goal. His loan was not extended.
Return to MLS In August 2015, Gomez joined
Toronto FC. After his release from Toronto at the beginning of the
2016 MLS season, Gomez joined
Seattle Sounders FC. He won MLS Cup for the second time in his career. He retired following the season and joined
ESPN as an analyst. ==International career==