Gerd Müller
Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (German pronunciation: [ˈɡɛʁt ˈmʏlɐ]; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021)[2] was a German professional footballer. A striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the sport.[3] With success at club and international level, he is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.
| Müller with Bayern Munich in 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gerhard Müller | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 3 November 1945 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nördlingen, Allied-occupied Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 15 August 2021 (aged 75) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Wolfratshausen, Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958–1963 | 1861 Nördlingen | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1964 | 1861 Nördlingen | 31 | (51) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1964–1979 | Bayern Munich | 453 | (398) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 71 | (38) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 555 | (487) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966 | West Germany U23 | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1966–1974 | West Germany | 62 | (68) | |||||||||||||||||||
Honours
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||||
At international level with West Germany, he scored 68 goals in 62 appearances, and at club level, in 15 years with Bayern Munich in which he scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches, he became – and still is – record holder of that league. In 74 European club games he scored 65 goals. Averaging over a goal a game with West Germany, Müller was, as of 11 July 2021, 21st on the list of all time international goalscorers, despite playing fewer matches than every other player in the top 48. Among the top scorers, he has the third-highest goal-to-game ratio. He also had the highest ratio of 0.97 goals per game in the European Cup, scoring 34 goals in 35 matches.[4]
Nicknamed "Bomber der Nation" ("the nation's Bomber") or simply "Der Bomber",[3] Müller was named European Footballer of the Year in 1970. After a successful season at Bayern Munich, he scored ten goals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup for West Germany where he received the Golden Boot as top goalscorer, before winning the 1970 Ballon d'Or. In 1972, he won the UEFA European Championship and was the top goalscorer, scoring two goals in the final. Two years later, he scored four goals in the 1974 World Cup, including the winning goal in the final.
Müller held the all-time goal-scoring record in the World Cup with 14 goals for 32 years.[5] In 1999, Müller was ranked ninth in the European player of the Century election held by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS), and he was voted 13th in the IFFHS' World Player of the Century election.[6] In 2004, Pelé named Müller in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.[3]
Club career
Bayern Munich
Born in Nördlingen, Germany, Müller began his football career at his hometown club TSV 1861 Nördlingen. Müller joined Bayern Munich in 1964, where he teamed up with future stars Franz Beckenbauer and Sepp Maier. The club, which would go on to become the most successful German club in history, was then still in the Regionalliga Süd (Regional League South), which was one level below the Bundesliga at the time. After one season, Bayern Munich advanced to the Bundesliga and started a long string of successes. With his club, Müller amassed titles during the 1960s and 1970s: he won the German Championship four times, the DFB-Pokal four times, the European Champions' Cup three consecutive years (the first West German team to win it; Müller scored in the 1974 final replay and the 1975 final), the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Cup Winners' Cup once.[7]
An opportunistic goal-scorer, Müller also became German top scorer seven times and European top scorer twice. Müller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches for Bayern Munich, 53 goals over the second-most successful Bundesliga scorer, Robert Lewandowski.[7] He held the single-season Bundesliga record with 40 goals in season 1971–72, a record that would be held until Lewandowski scored 41 goals during the 2020–21 season.[8] Müller averaged a goal per game or better in seven of his 14 seasons. He scored 68 goals in 62 German international games.[7] He held the record for most goals scored in a calendar year, striking 85 goals in 1972,[9] until his total was surpassed 40 years later in 2012 by Lionel Messi.[10]
Fort Lauderdale Strikers
After his career in the Bundesliga Müller went to the United States, where he joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers (based in the Miami area) of the North American Soccer League (NASL) in 1979.[11] He played three seasons with this team, scoring 38 goals,[11] and reaching, but losing, the league final in 1980.[12]
International career
Müller scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany.[7] He was Germany's all-time leading scorer for almost 40 years until surpassed by Miroslav Klose in 2014, though Klose required over double the number of caps to do so, scoring his 69th goal in his 132nd appearance.[13] Müller's international career started in 1966 and ended on 7 July 1974 with victory at the 1974 World Cup at his home stadium in Munich.[14] He scored the winning goal for the 2–1 victory over Johan Cruyff's Netherlands in the final. His four goals in that tournament and his ten goals at the 1970 World Cup combined made him the all-time highest World Cup goalscorer at the time with 14 goals. His record stood until the 2006 tournament, coincidentally held in Germany, when it was broken by Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who also required more matches than Müller to achieve his tally.[5] Müller also participated in the 1972 European Championship, becoming top scorer with four goals (including two in the final) and winning the Championship with the West German team.[7]
Müller quit playing for West Germany after the 1974 World Cup triumph following an argument with the German Football Association at the post-tournament celebration, when officials' wives were allowed to attend but players' wives were not.
Life after football
After Müller ended his career in 1982, he fell into a slump and suffered from alcoholism. However, his former companions at Bayern Munich convinced him to go through alcohol rehabilitation. When he emerged, they gave him a job as a coach at Bayern Munich II. He held the position from 1992 until he retired in 2014 due to health problems. There is also a collection of apparel released by sporting giants Adidas under the Gerd Müller name. It is part of the Adidas originals series. In July 2008, the Rieser Sportpark, in Nördlingen, where Müller had begun his career, was renamed the Gerd-Müller-Stadion in his honour.[15][16]
On 6 October 2015, it was announced that Müller was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[17] He died on 15 August 2021 in a nursing home in Wolfratshausen, aged 75.[18][19]
Style of play
In his book, Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, author David Winner writes, "Müller was short, squat, awkward-looking and not notably fast; he never fitted the conventional idea of a great footballer, but he had lethal acceleration over short distances, a remarkable aerial game, and uncanny goalscoring instincts. His short legs gave him a low center of gravity, so he could turn quickly and with perfect balance in spaces and at speeds that would cause other players to fall over. He also had a knack of scoring in unlikely situations."[20]
Müller used extreme acceleration and deceptive changes of pace to get to loose balls first, and bypass defenders.[21] His teammate Franz Beckenbauer has emphasized Müller's unusual speed: "His pace was incredible. In training I have played against him and I never had a chance."[22]
Career statistics
Club
A goals tally in bold indicates that Müller was the competition's top scorer for that season.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe[a] | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Comp | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| TSV 1861 Nördlingen | 1962–63 | Bezirksliga Schwaben-Nord | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | 3 | 4 | ||||
| 1963–64 | Bezirksliga Schwaben-Nord | 28 | 47 | — | — | — | 28 | 47 | |||||
| Total | 31 | 51 | — | — | — | 31 | 51 | ||||||
| Bayern Munich | 1964–65 | Regionalliga Süd | 26 | 33 | — | — | 6[b] | 6 | 32 | 39 | |||
| 1965–66 | Bundesliga | 33 | 15 | 6 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 16 | ||||
| 1966–67 | Bundesliga | 32 | 28 | 4 | 7 | CWC | 9 | 8 | — | 45 | 43 | ||
| 1967–68 | Bundesliga | 34 | 19 | 4 | 4 | CWC | 8 | 7 | — | 46 | 30 | ||
| 1968–69 | Bundesliga | 30 | 30 | 5 | 7 | — | — | 35 | 37 | ||||
| 1969–70 | Bundesliga | 33 | 38 | 3 | 4 | EC | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 42 | ||
| 1970–71 | Bundesliga | 32 | 22 | 7 | 10 | ICFC | 8 | 7 | — | 47 | 39 | ||
| 1971–72 | Bundesliga | 34 | 40 | 6 | 5 | CWC | 8 | 5 | — | 48 | 50 | ||
| 1972–73 | Bundesliga | 33 | 36 | 5 | 7 | EC | 6 | 11 | 5[c] | 12 | 49 | 66 | |
| 1973–74 | Bundesliga | 34 | 30 | 4 | 5 | EC | 10 | 8 | — | 48 | 43 | ||
| 1974–75 | Bundesliga | 33 | 23 | 3 | 2 | EC | 7 | 5 | — | 43 | 30 | ||
| 1975–76 | Bundesliga | 22 | 23 | 6 | 7 | EC | 6 | 5 | 1[d] | 0 | 35 | 35 | |
| 1976–77 | Bundesliga | 25 | 28 | 4 | 11 | EC | 4 | 5 | 4[e] | 4 | 37 | 48 | |
| 1977–78 | Bundesliga | 33 | 24 | 3 | 4 | UEFA | 6 | 4 | — | 42 | 32 | ||
| 1978–79 | Bundesliga | 19 | 9 | 2 | 4 | — | — | 21 | 13 | ||||
| Total | 453 | 398 | 62 | 78 | — | 74 | 65[24][25] | 16 | 22 | 605 | 563 | ||
| Fort Lauderdale Strikers | 1979 | NASL | 25 | 19 | — | — | 2[f] | 0 | 27 | 19 | |||
| 1980 | NASL | 29 | 14 | — | — | 7[f] | 2 | 36 | 16 | ||||
| 1981 | NASL | 17 | 5 | — | — | — | 17 | 5 | |||||
| Total | 71 | 38 | — | — | 9 | 2 | 80 | 40 | |||||
| Career total | 555 | 487 | 62 | 78 | — | 74 | 65[26] | 25 | 24 | 716 | 654 | ||
- ^ Includes European Cup (35 appearances/35 goals), UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (25/20), Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (8/7), UEFA Cup (6/4)
- ^ 6 appearances (6 goals) in Bundesliga promotion play-offs
- ^ Appearances in the DFB-Ligapokal
- ^ Appearance in the UEFA Super Cup
- ^ 2 appearances (3 goals) in the UEFA Super Cup, 2 appearances (1 goal) in the Intercontinental Cup
- ^ a b Appearances in NASL play-offs
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Germany | Friendlies – 1966 | 1 | 0 |
| Friendlies – 1967 | 1 | 1 | |
| UEFA Euro 1968 qual. | 3 | 6 | |
| Friendlies – 1968 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1970 FIFA World Cup qual. | 6 | 9 | |
| Friendlies – 1969 | 3 | 2 | |
| Friendlies – 1970 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1970 FIFA World Cup | 6 | 10 | |
| Friendlies – 1971 | 4 | 7 | |
| UEFA Euro 1972 qual. | 7 | 6 | |
| Friendlies – 1972 | 3 | 8 | |
| UEFA Euro 1972 | 2 | 4 | |
| Friendlies – 1973 | 8 | 7 | |
| Friendlies – 1974 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1974 FIFA World Cup | 7 | 4 | |
| Total | 62 | 68 | |
Müller scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany. His 14 goals in FIFA World Cup tournaments were a record between 1974 and 2006. This score was bettered in 2006 by Brazil's Ronaldo, and eight years later by German Miroslav Klose, who also broke Müller's record for goals for Germany.[29][30] However, Müller managed to score eight hat-tricks in his international career.[31]
Honours
- Regionalliga Süd: 1964–65
- Bundesliga: 1968–69, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74
- DFB-Pokal: 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1970–71
- European Cup: 1973–74, 1974–75, 1975–76
- European Cup Winners' Cup: 1966–67
- Intercontinental Cup: 1976
Individual
- Ballon d'Or: 1970;[34] runner-up: 1972;[a] third place: 1969, 1973
- Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1967, 1969[35]
- Voted best Player 40 Years Bundesliga 1963–2003[36]
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1972–73[37][38][39][40]
- Eric Batty's World XI: 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1978[41][42]
- Bundesliga Top Scorer (Kicker-Torjägerkanone): 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978[3]
- European Golden Shoe: 1969–70, 1971–72[43][44]
- FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1970[3]
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1970[45]
- FIFA Selects World XI: 1971, 1972, 1973[46]
- Worldwide Topscorer: 1970, 1972[47]
- UEFA European Championship Top Scorer: 1972[3]
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1972[48]
- European Cup Top Scorer: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977[49]
- Onze de Onze: 1976[50]
- FIFA Order of Merit: 1998[51]
- FIFA 100: 2004[3]
- Golden Foot: 2007, as football legend[52]
- Bravo Otto: Gold award: 1973, 1974; Silver award: 1975; Bronze award: 1972, 1976[53]
- IFFHS Legends[54]
- Bayern Munich All-time XI[55]
- IFFHS All-time Men's B Dream Team: 2021[56]
- IFFHS All-time Europe Men's Dream Team: 2021[57]
See also
Notes
- ^ Shared with Günter Netzer
References
- ^ "Gerd Müller" (in German). fussballdaten.de. from the original on 23 December 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2008.
- ^ Mason, Peter (16 August 2021). "Gerd Müller obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i . FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Football world in mourning for Gerd Müller". UEFA. 15 August 2021.
- ^ a b "World Cup Rewind: Ronaldo sets all-time goals world record". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ Stokkermans, Karel (30 January 2000). "IFFHS Century Elections". RSSSF. from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Gerd Müller ist tot". Süddeutsche.de (in German). 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Lewandowski makes Bundesliga history with goal 41 in Bayern Munich's title-winning campaign". goal.com. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
- ^ Uli Hesse (17 November 2012). "Looking for Goals". ESPN. from the original on 21 November 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
- ^ "Lionel Messi of Barcelona sets new goal-scoring record". BBC Sport. 10 December 2012. from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Gerd Müller: One of the greatest goalscorers of all time". bundesliga.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Deutsche Stars in Nordamerika: Beckenbauer, Müller, Matthäus: Schweinsteigers Vorgänger". Westdeutsche Zeitung (in German). 21 March 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "World Cup in sight as Germany see off Austria". UEFA.com. 6 September 2013. from the original on 13 June 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2016.
- ^ Lomas, Mark (28 May 2010). "Gerd Muller: Der Bomber". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN. from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ Milde, Robert (30 October 2019). "Lust und Frust mit der Heimatstadt". Augsburger Allgemeine (in German). Retrieved 15 August 2021. (subscription required)
- ^ "Ein schönes Stadion hast du, Gerd". Abendzeitung München (in German). 20 July 2008. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "Gerd Muller, Bayern Munich Legend, Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease". Bleacher Report. 6 October 2015. from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ^ "Er traf und traf und traf". hz.de (in German). 16 August 2021.
- ^ "'The greatest striker': Gerd Müller, legendary German forward, dies aged 75". The Guardian. 15 August 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Schaaf, Susie (10 December 2012). "The Reason". ESPN.com. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "PlayersBios". hallofchampions.com. from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
- ^ "Beckenbauer schwelgt in Erinnerungen" [Beckenbauer revels in memories]. UEFA. from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
...seine Schnelligkeit war unglaublich. Im Training habe ich gegen ihn gespielt und ich hatte nie eine Chance. Wir kannten seine Bewegungsabläufe, konnten ihn aber trotzdem nicht stoppen – so schnell war er.
- ^ Kolos, Vladimir (21 January 2016). "Additional Data on Gerd Müller". RSSSF. rsssf.org/players/prolific.html#gmueller Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: Check|archive-url=value (help) - ^ "Gerd Müller's career in numbers". FC Bayern Munich. 3 November 2020.
- ^ "Bayern-Ajax 1972 History | UEFA Champions League". UEFA.com.
- ^ Gerd Müller – Goals in European Cups RSSSF
- ^ "Gerd Müller". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Gerhard "Gerd" Müller – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. 25 March 2005. from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Gerhard "Gerd" Müller – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ "Klose breaks World Cup goal record". Goal.com. 8 July 2014. from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
- ^ "Gerd Müller". eu-football.info.
- ^ a b "Gerd Müller" (in German). fussballdaten.de. from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "Der 38. Spieltag der Regionalliga Süd 1964/1965" (in German). fussballdaten.de. from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ Moore, Rob; Stokkermans, Karel. "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". RSSSF. from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "Fußballer des Jahres seit 1960: Die Siegerliste" (in German). kicker.de. from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ Hartmann, Ulrich (11 May 2010). ""Ich könnte heulen"" [I could cry] (in German). Sueddeutsche.de. from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "Bundesliga Historie 1968/69" (in German). kicker. from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Bundesliga Historie 1969/70" (in German). kicker. from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Bundesliga Historie 1971/72" (in German). kicker. from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Bundesliga Historie 1972/73" (in German). kicker. from the original on 14 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ McCracken, Craig (29 April 2013). "Eric Batty's World XI – The Sixties". Beyond The Last Man. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ McCracken, Craig (7 November 2013). "Eric Batty's World XI – The Seventies". Beyond The Last Man. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "Topscorer 2012/2013: Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona)". eusm.eu. from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "Golden Boot ("Soulier d'Or") Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "FIFA World Cup All-Star Team". Football world Cup All Star Team. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ . 29 August 2011. Archived from the original on 29 August 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "World League Topscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ "1972 team of the tournament". UEFA.com. 2 May 2011. from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ "Top Scorers". futbal.org. from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
- ^ ""Onze Mondial" Awards". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
- ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ . Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- ^ Biermann, C.; Köster, P. (2013). Fast alles über 50 Jahre Bundesliga (in German). Kiepenheuer & Witsch eBook. p. 139. ISBN 978-3-462-30643-9. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
- ^ "IFFHS announce the 48 football legend players". IFFHS. 25 January 2016. from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
- ^ "Fans name greatest reds of all time". FC Bayern München. 1 June 2005. from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
- ^ "IFFHS ALL TIME WORLD MEN'S DREAM TEAM". IFFHS. 22 May 2021.
- ^ "IFFHS". IFFHS. 29 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
External links
- Gerd Müller – Player profile at FIFA.com
- Gerd Müller at FootballDatabase.eu
- Gerd Müller at fussballdaten.de (in German)
- at FIFA.com
- Statistics on Müller's matches and goals at RSSSF