“Raumdeuter” from TSV Pähl
Thomas Müller was born in Weilheim in Upper Bavaria and already as a 5-year-old he joined the local club TSV Pähl. As a 10-year-old, he was recruited to FC Bayern Munich’s youth sector, where he quickly developed both offensive and defensive qualities. As a 15-year-old, he made his debut on the German U-16 national team and he was often used in various offensive positions; Striker, hanging striker, offensive midfielder or wing. Müller’s unique versatility as both a goal scorer and an assisted player was developed in his youth and is therefore no coincidence. Thomas Müller sees himself as a “raumdeuter”, who sees opportunities for himself and his teammates before everyone else, and exploits them due to his many and intense runs. Thomas Müller is far from among the fastest, strongest or best technical football players in the world, but without a doubt among the most game-intelligent.
FIFA World Cup 2010 and FIFA World Cup 2014 – top scorer and among the World Cup’s best players
Thomas Müller made his debut in August 2008 as an 18-year-old for FC Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga against HSV. However, in the first season as a senior he only played 4 matches on the club’s best team. The big breakthrough in the Bundesliga came in the 2009-2010 season, where Thomas Müller played all 34 matches. And with 13 goals and 11 assists, he made a decisive contribution to FC Bayern Munich winning both the national Championship and the DBF cup. Thomas Müller’s fantastic season also meant that national coach Joachim Löw selected him for the German national team. The FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa was the big international breakthrough on “Die Mannschaft” for Thomas Müller, who with 5 goals and 3 assists was a decisive factor behind the team’s World Cup bronze medal. He played all World Cup matches except the semi-final against Spain, where he was out due to quarantine. Thomas Müller became the top scorer of the FIFA World Cup 2010 and he was also named the best young player in the FIFA World Cup 2010.
The biggest international result with “Die Mannschaft” was achieved by Thomas Müller at the FIFA World Cup 2014, which was held in Brazil. Germany won the title for the 4’th time as World champions after superb play throughout the FIFA World Cup 2014. In particular, Germany’s 7-1 victory over the FIFA World Cup host in the semi-finals is a historic match that will be long forgotten, neither in Germany, Brazil nor the rest of the world. With 5 goals, Thomas Müller became the second best World Cup goal scorer after James Rodriguez from Colombia and one of 5 German players on the FIFA World Cup’s All-Star team 2014.
FIFA World Cup 2018 – sporting failure and deselected to “Die Mannschaft”
The FIFA 2018 World Cup, which took place in Russia, became, in contrast to both the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the FIFA World Cup 2014, a sporting failure, both for the German national team and Thomas Müller. Defeats to Mexico and South Korea in the group stage sent the defending World champions home before the FIFA World Cup 2018 had really started. And Thomas Müller had to leave a World Cup without either goals or assists. The personal disappointment for Thomas Müller became even greater when national coach Joachim Löw announced shortly after the FIFA World Cup 2018 that Müller – together with two of his club mates – Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels – were not included in Löw’s plans until the EURO 2020. Thomas Müller has shown play world-class in recent seasons, so it will be a marked weakening of a – anything but impressive – German national team, if Löw fails to select Thomas Müller for the upcoming EURO 2010 finals, where Germany in Munich meets France, Portugal and Hungary in the initial group game. In my opinion, there should be far more than the 100 international matches and 38 goals that Thomas Müller has achieved so far.
A unique interaction between two world-class players
The recent seasons – and not least the 2019-2020 season, where FC Bayern Munich won 5 titles – has been a fantastic period for Thomas Müller. Not least his interaction with the club’s top scorer Robert Lewandowski has been one of the main reasons for the club’s many triumphs. In the free role that head coach Hansi Flick has given him, Thomas Müller has developed into by far the most assisting player in the Bundesliga. And not least the Polish top scorer has benefited from this, as the vast majority of his 35 goals this season and 34 goals last season have come after assists from Thomas Müller. The two sympathetic world-class players are, in my opinion, one of – or perhaps more precisely – the world’s most dangerous attacking duo.
On the track to a club record
FC Bayern Munich’s president Karl Heinz Rummenige has told the German sports magazine Bild very precisely about Müller’s role in the club: “Thomas Müller is definitely one of our absolute biggest profiles, both for training and in matches. He always takes the lead and inspires his teammates. I can not imagine him playing for any other club than ours ”. Several top European clubs – including Liverpool FC, Manchester United and Juventus – have repeatedly tried with millions of euros to lure Thomas Müller away from the Allianz Arena and Säbener Strasse in Munich. But so far he has been faithful to the heart club with a contract until the summer of 2023. And there is no indication that he wants to leave Bavaria, where he – together with his girlfriend – lives on a farm in the countryside and with a great passion for horses.
Thomas Müller has today played 378 matches and scored 128 goals in the Bundesliga for FC Bayern Munich. In addition, 126 matches and 48 goals in the Champions League can be added. He has won 28 titles, including 10 national championships, 6 DBF cup titles, two Champions League championships (2013 and 2020) and a world championship (2014) – merits that have made Thomas Müller the winning German footballer ever. In addition, he will probably also – with almost 600 club matches in his luggage – in the coming years pass the three club legends in FC Bayern Munich: Sepp Meier (700), Oliver Kahn (632) and Gerd Müller (605) – for most matches for the German club . So far, the dream of the curly-haired boy from TSV Pähl was not back in the mid-1990s, when football boots were laced up for the first time. But diligence and faithfulness can bring one far in life – even in football.
