| Full name | Thomas Müller | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 13 September 1989 | ||
| Place of birth | Weilheim, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder/Forward | ||
Thomas Müller (German pronunciation: [ˈtoːmas ˈmʏlɐ]) (born 13 September 1989 in Weilheim) is a German international footballer who plays for Bayern Munich.
Müller plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking midfielder, second striker, and on either wing. He has been praised for his pace, technique and composure, and has shown consistency in both scoring and creating goals. A product of Bayern's youth system, he made his first-team breakthrough under new Bayern manager Louis van Gaal during the 2009–10 season, playing almost every game as the club won the league and cup double, and reached the Champions League final. This earned him an international call-up, and at the end of the season he was named in Germany's squad for the 2010 World Cup, where he scored five goals in six appearances as the team finished in third place. He was named as the Best Young Player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot with five goals and three assists.
Club career
Early career
Müller played as a youth for TSV Pähl, before joining Bayern Munich in 2000, aged 10.[3] He progressed through the youth system, and was part of the team that finished runner-up in the Under-19 Bundesliga in 2007.[3] He made his debut for the reserve team in March 2008, replacing Stephan Fürstner in a Regionalliga match against SpVgg Unterhaching,[4] in which he scored. He made two more Regionalliga appearances in the 2007–08 season, while continuing to play for the under-19 team. The following season, Bayern's second string qualified for the newly formed 3rd Liga, and Müller established himself as a key player – playing in 32 out of 38 matches,[5] and scoring 15 times, making him the league's fifth top scorer.[6] He also became involved in the first-team, appearing in pre-season friendlies,[7][8] and making his full debut on 15 August 2008 in a Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV.[9] Despite Müller himself feeling that his performance didn't go well,[10] he made three more Bundesliga appearances that season,[5] and made his Champions League debut on 10 March 2009, being substituted on in the 72nd minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in a 7–1 win over Sporting CP. He scored Bayern's last goal as they won the tie 12–1 on aggregate.[11]Breakthrough season
In February 2009, Müller signed his first contract for the senior team, effective from the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mate Holger Badstuber.[12] He was prepared to be loaned or even transferred away to find first-team football,[10] but with the appointment of Louis van Gaal as manager, both players became regular fixtures in the Bayern first team from the start of the season.[13] In the first few matches Müller was a regular substitute, and on 12 September 2009, he was brought on against Borussia Dortmund and scored two goals in a 5–1 victory.[14] Three days later, he scored another brace in a Champions League clash against Maccabi Haifa, which ended 3–0.[15] He rounded off September by being named the Bundesliga player of the month[16] and earning praise from his namesake, legendary former Bayern and Germany striker Gerd Müller.[17] After the Haifa match, Müller was in the starting eleven for almost every match,[13] only missing one match – a Champions League match against Bordeaux, for which he was suspended,[18] having been sent off in an earlier match against the same team.[19]On 4 February 2010, Bayern Munich announced that Müller had signed a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2013.[20] During the second half of the season, Müller continued to be a regular first-team starter,[13] usually playing in a central striking role due to the availability of wide players Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. In April 2010, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 win against title rivals Schalke 04,[21] and in the penultimate league match of the season, he scored the first hat-trick of his career,[22][23] in a 3–1 win over Bochum which effectively secured the German title for Bayern.[24] This was confirmed a week later with a 3–1 win at Hertha Berlin,[25] a match which Müller started, meaning he had played in all 34 Bundesliga matches of the season, starting 29 of those and recording 13 goals and 11 assists.[13] Bayern and Müller were back in Berlin the following week, to face Werder Bremen in the final of the DFB-Pokal. Müller started the match, which Bayern won 4–0, to complete the domestic double.[26] Müller had scored four goals and made two assists during the competition, which made him its leading scorer for the season.[27] Bayern's season ended at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, as they pursued a first treble, facing Internazionale in the 2010 Champions League Final. It was not to be, however, as they lost 2–0, with both goals coming from Diego Milito. Müller was in the starting line-up, and had a key chance just after half-time, with Bayern 1–0 down, but his shot was saved by Júlio César.[28] Müller felt particularly disappointed by this defeat,[10] but had ended his first season as a first-team player as a near ever-present, having played 52 matches and scored 19 goals in all competitions.[13] In a poll conducted by the sports magazine Kicker, he was voted by his fellow professionals as the best newcomer of the 2009–10 season[29] and was named in the Bundesliga team of the season.[30] Müller credits Van Gaal for having had the biggest part to play in his rise to success - the coach had arrived with a reputation for promoting youth team players, particularly at Ajax, and consistently gave Müller his chance in the first-team. Müller, in return, describes Van Gaal as "a genius technician", who makes players "improve every time".[10]
Current season
Müller returned from his post-World Cup break to sign another contract extension, this time extending his stay at Bayern until 2015.[31] As with all of Bayern's World Cup participants, he missed much of pre-season,[32] and his first match back was the Supercup against Schalke 04 on 7 August. He was named in the starting 11, and scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win.[33] Two weeks later he scored the opening goal of Bayern's league season, in a 2–1 home win against VfL Wolfsburg.[34] Müller played in every match of the first half of the season, usually as a starter,[35] but as the team have struggled for results, Müller has been unable to match last season's goalscoring exploits,[35] even receiving a telling off from Louis van Gaal after missing an easy chance in a 2–0 defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in August.[10][36] He was philosophical about this dip in form, though,[37] and after eight league games without a goal, he scored in a 4–1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt on 27 November,[38] and again in consecutive league and cup wins against VfB Stuttgart three weeks later,[39] talking his tally to eight goals in all competitions,[35] including a spectacular goal to open the scoring in a 2–0 Champions League victory against Roma on 15 September.[10][40] As the team broke up for winter, Müller was left to reflect on "an almost unbelievable first year as a pro".[37] Müller has begun the second half of the season in good form, but was involved in an altercation with team-mate Arjen Robben, who was angered when Müller showed his displeasure at a poor free-kick Robben had taken during a 3–1 win at Werder Bremen.[41]See also: 2010–11 FC Bayern Munich season
International career
Müller has represented Germany at various youth levels, starting with the under-16s in 2004.[43] In August 2009, he was called up to the under-21 team for the first time, making his debut in a 3–1 friendly defeat against Turkey.[44] He has so far earned six caps for the under-21s, scoring one goal,[45] the eighth in an 11–0 thrashing of San Marino.[46]In October of the same year, Müller's regular appearances for Bayern's first team caused German national team manager Joachim Löw to publicly consider him for a call-up,[47][48] and the following month, he was named in the squad for a friendly against Côte d'Ivoire.[49] However, this coincided with the death of national team goalkeeper Robert Enke, which led to a match against Chile the same week being cancelled.[50] With less opportunity to try out new players, and with the under-21 team facing crucial qualifiers for the 2011 European Championship, it was felt by Löw and under-21 manager Rainer Adrion that Müller was needed at that level, and he was called back into the under-21s.[51]
He was back in the senior squad for its next get-together, a training session in Sindelfingen in January 2010,[52] and was named in the squad for the following match, a friendly against Argentina in March.[53] He made his debut in this game, being named in the starting eleven for the match at the Allianz Arena, his home stadium. He was substituted in the 66th minute, replaced by fellow debutant Toni Kroos as Germany lost 1–0.[42]
2010 World Cup
On 6 May, Müller was named in Germany's provisional 27-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, along with seven other Bayern Munich players.[55] Despite suffering a scare when he fell off his bicycle at the team's training camp in South Tirol,[56] Müller only suffered superficial injuries, and made the final cut for the tournament when the squad was reduced to 23 players on 1 June.[57] He was allocated the number 13,[58] normally worn by injured captain Michael Ballack,[58] and previously worn by Müller's namesake Gerd.[58] He earned his second international cap in the final warm-up match before the World Cup, coming on as a half-time substitute for Piotr Trochowski in a 3–1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.[59] He started the first game of Germany's World Cup campaign, a 4–0 win over Australia and scored his first international goal, the third of the game.[60] He played in all Germany's group games, as they finished top of Group D, and he scored twice and assisted once in the 4–1 victory over England in the round of 16.[61] He scored his fourth goal of the tournament in the quarter final against Argentina, opening the scoring in the third minute as Germany won 4–0.[54] However, having picked up his second booking of the tournament in the second half,[62] he missed the semi-final defeat against Spain - Müller said that he felt far more nervous during this game than had he been able to play.[10] He returned to the team for the third-place playoff against Uruguay, scoring the first goal, his fifth of the tournament, as Germany won 3–2 to take the bronze medals.[63] With five goals he ended as joint top goalscorer of the tournament, and his three assists meant that he won the Golden Boot.[64] He also won the Best Young Player Award, ahead of fellow nominees André Ayew of Ghana and Giovani dos Santos of Mexico.[65] In both cases he succeeded a German team-mate, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski having won the respective awards in 2006.[66] In October 2010, he was named on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or award, along with four of his Germany team-mates.[67] Reflecting on his World Cup success, Müller said "I basically got lucky, I hit form at just the right time".[37]Euro 2012
Müller has been in the starting eleven in all of Germany's first five qualifiers for Euro 2012, all of which have ended in victory. Müller has assisted two goals, both for Miroslav Klose,[68] and scored twice in a 4–0 win over Kazakhstan in March 2011.Honours
Club
- Bayern Munich[3]
- Bundesliga (1): 2010
- DFB-Pokal (1): 2010
- DFL-Supercup (1): 2010
- UEFA Champions League Runner-up: 2010
International
- FIFA World Cup Third place: 2010[70]
Individual
- FIFA World Cup Golden Boot (1): 2010[64]
- FIFA World Cup Best Young Player (1): 2010[65]
- Bayerischer Sportpreis (1): 2010[71]
- Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (1): 2010[72]
- VdV Newcomer of the Year (1): 2010[29]
- World Soccer Young Player of the Year (1): 2010[73]
- Bravo Award: 2010[74]
Playing style
Müller's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder,[1] a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. As he came through the youth system, he was seen primarily as a midfielder,[10] but since breaking into the first-team he has been used in more forward roles. Both Bayern Munich and the Germany national team usually play a 4–2–3–1 formation, and Müller is most often part of the 3 between the central striker – he can play in any position across the 3, but usually plays in a central role for Bayern Munich[26] and on the right for Germany.[54][61] He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion.[75]Müller has been praised for his pace, technique,[76][77] awareness and positioning.[37] He has been particularly noted for his composure, being described as "impervious to pressure" by Germany manager Joachim Löw[10] and as having "tremendous mental strength" by Bayern manager Louis van Gaal.[37] A consistent scorer and creator of goals,[2] he describes himself as a player who can find gaps in the opposition defence, but as not particularly good at dribbling or one-on-ones.[10]
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