The best in football history ... — Not one of them– mdash; — Striker Gadd; Mueller, forever out of this world, and his favorite little forbidden zone.
But as Bayern president Heiner said, Gadder... The name Mueller and every moment of his career, every achievement and record, "will forever remain in our memory." ”
"Oh my God, where did Bayern bring such a monster from?" Legendary goalkeeper Meyer recalls the first time he met Mueller: "Can he do it? With the same disdain was Beckenbauer: "His shape is simply a square." Then-head coach Tchaikovsky looked down on the "square" even more, and it wasn't until the 10th game of that season that he was given a chance to play under the pressure of the club president. But a season later, Müller helped Bayern advance to the Bundesliga with 33 goals, laying the foundation for the hegemony.
Mueller is only 1.75 meters tall, and he does not grow in speed, and his weight is 90 kilograms. Such a "square" can grow into the most threatening "bomber" in the green field, without him, only talented ears, and thick thighs. Meyer recalled: "His thighs were as thick as someone else's waist. "The stout stature makes him more agile than most opponents' centre of gravity, while the thick thighs increase the speed at which he turns around and gives him endless shooting power." And the most important point is, as Müller himself said: "As a striker, you have to know where the ball comes from and where it goes. This "sense of smell" seems to Mueller to be a gift from heaven: "Born to have it, there is none." ”
Stature and smell make up talent, but any success is inseparable from the efforts of the day after tomorrow. According to his childhood friend and golfer Günther, they would practice their soccer skills in the back streets near their homes as soon as school was over. Like all other Bavarian towns, the streets and alleys are paved with rubble, not like the smoothness of the asphalt pavement, nor the "softness" of the cinderland, which is simply an "anti-football" existence, but Müller is like a fish. "The ball bounces up easily and irregularly, but Müller always finds where the ball lands faster than anyone else." Günter recalls the situation and still finds it incredible, "His skills quickly became far superior to everyone else's, but we couldn't learn it." ”
Müller prefers and adapts to the small penalty area more than any striker. Without a long run, speed is no longer a short board, and the low center of gravity gives his turn and adjust speed an advantage, coupled with the talent for judging the landing point and direction of the football, he can choose the most suitable way to shoot the ball into the net anywhere in the small penalty area. Perhaps the most classic scene was the second goal scored in the 1974 World Cup final, when Bonkhov's cross was not too good, and Müller had to stop the ball with his left foot ready to shoot, and the ball stopped behind him. He immediately stopped, turned, centered his weight backwards, and fired with his right foot, and the score had been rewritten to 2-1 when neither the Dutch goalkeeper nor the defender had reacted. The whole scoring process looked a little awkward, but Müller was willing to do so, and it was just one of the countless incredible goals he scored in his lifetime.
Not fancy, but practical and extremely efficient. That's Mueller, but as a striker, isn't that all there is to it? And Mueller is just a little more talented than this "all".
Not just Bayern players but also family
Family members who drink alcohol can you see death and not save?
On the evening of August 15, a huge line of words was typed on the outer wall of the Allianz Arena: Thank you Gad! This is Bayern bidding farewell to Muller who left the morning, hoping that he will see him when he has gone to heaven. Only fans who are familiar with the love affair between Müller and Bayern I will really feel the sincerity of this sentence. For Müller, Bayern was his life's home. For Bayern, Müller is the most sensible child.
After Nordlingen became famous, the 19-year-old Müller most wanted to join Bavarian boss Nuremberg, but was flatly rejected because of his short stature. As a result, he had to choose between Bayern Munich and Munich 1860: "The 1860 team that just won the German Cup is obviously stronger, but they have too many big names and can only go as a substitute. Many years later, Müller recalled the original intention of choosing Bayern. In the end, he joined Bayern, who was still playing in the regional league, for a transfer fee of 4,000 Deutsche Marks. Another important reason is that Bayern are the sworn enemies of Nuremberg. The enemy is against what we support. — That's what the Bayern president at the time thought.
Although also too poor to be seen by the Bayern manager, Müller finally got a chance to play after 10 rounds in the league and scored a goal (Bayern beat Freiburg 11-2) and never got a shot. He scored 33 goals that season to help Bayern rush into the first division. In the 1968–1969 season, he scored 30 goals and helped Bayern win their first Bundesliga title. In the three seasons from 1971 to 1974, he scored 40, 36 and 30 goals to help Bayern win their first triple crown. In 1974-1976, his goals helped Bayern win a treble in the Champions League... While Bayern are now working towards their grand goal of a ten-time title, everyone should be grateful for Müller's immortal exploits, and every goal he scores is a cornerstone of the Bundesliga's throne.
After retiring from the national team in 1974, Müller focused on the club until 1979, when he moved to the United States, where he gave his all for Bayern. But after retiring from the army, Mueller had no goal in life, and he began to drink heavily in extreme emptiness, and his life got worse and worse, and he was on the verge of bankruptcy around 1990. At this time, Bayern extended warm arms to him. Of course, the process was not as good as the outcome, and at a high-level meeting at Bayern, "whether to rescue the alcoholic former Bayern players" became the main issue, and when most of the members voted against it, the then chairman Beckenbauer shot up and made up his mind: "If it wasn't for him, we might still be in that small broken house (the office where we played in the amateur league)..."
Müller became a Bayern staff member, but had no specific position. Sometimes he would teach strikers to shoot, and sometimes he would do chores in the fan shop. In short, he regarded the Bayern club as a home, not only food and clothing, but also infinite happiness. In 2012, Müller began to develop mild symptoms in Alzheimer's, and in 2015, the symptoms worsened, bayern had to announce the news and send him to the best hospital for maintenance, paying a high fee until the last day of his life. Compared with Müller's contribution to Bayern, Bayern's return is light, but the money is light and heavy. Now go back to the words of the Allianz Arena, and the feeling is even deeper.
A pure person
Mueller on the pitch is a terrifying "bomber", but Mueller on the pitch is so low-key that it will disappear from the crowd thrown into single digits. Like his style of play, simplicity is the most important label in Mueller's personality. Bayern's current president, Haina, called him "a pure man", while all his teammates and neighbours unanimously described him as "a good man".
Such a "pure good guy", no one will not like. In addition to opponents resenting him for scoring too many goals after the game, Mueller can win the world's favor. But Mueller never regarded himself as a star, he was like ordinary people on the day of no competition, he also took the subway and tram, and also went to the beach with ordinary people, and after being recognized, Mueller was never annoyed, and seriously took photos with others, signed autographs, no matter how many people did not refuse. In his day, Beckenbauer would go to film and buy luxury cars, and Breitner would become a big star because of his "left leaning", but Mueller would always focus on the race.
However, being a good person does not mean not having character. At the 1974 World Cup, Müller helped Germany win the title with a goal, but was told at the post-match celebration banquet that only the wives of officials could participate, and the wives of players could not. So he angrily left the national team, and forever, which led directly to Germany losing the final of euro 1976 and not reaching the final of the 1978 World Cup at all. In the 1978-1979 Bundesliga, Serena, then Bayern manager, felt that Müller was not in good shape, so he sat on the bench once again, and the good man Müller was once again provoked, so he left angrily and went to the Major Leagues.
Mueller would have set more records and won higher achievements if he hadn't left twice, but for his illustrious career, it would have been nothing more than rewriting a few numbers. Mueller has long since reached heights unmatched by anyone in history. The high places are not cold, and it is even more uncomfortable to get used to the highs and then return to the lows. After returning to Germany after a short career in the United States, Mueller fell into boundless loneliness. Without the green field and without a small penalty area, Mueller was overwhelmed and began to drink heavily, almost ruining the second half of his life, and the Alzheimer's disease suffered in his later years was not unrelated to the alcoholism of that year.
Alcoholism is the only stain on the life of the good man Mueller, but no one is perfect, and the omnipotent Mueller in the small forbidden area is not exempt from vulgarity. And his alcoholism only hurt himself, and everyone still loved him until the last moment of his life.