Gerd Muller is a true German football legend. The striker was born back in 1945, in the city of Nördlingen, on November 3. Now the former footballer is 69 years old. He went a long and thorny path to fame, but he never gave up and did not give in to difficulties. This quality, as well as many others, helped him become the most famous and honorable striker in Germany. Gerd Muller is a footballer who deserves special attention, so it's worth telling about him.
About club career
Gerd Muller came to football in 1960. Then he began to play for the youth club “TVS 1861”. He stayed in the team until 1963, after which he began to play for the professional team, that is, for the main team. In “TVS 1861” he played a year, and during this time he entered the field 31 times. For so many matches, he scored 51 goals! Fantastic statistics, and this is a young man who was not even twenty years old.
Then he moved to Munich “Bavaria”, in which he stayed from 1964 to 1979. For this club, Gerd Muller played 453 matches and for all this time scored 398 goals against opponents. It is not surprising that the striker became a fan favorite, a true friend and assistant to teammates - it was not without his help that the Munich team broke into the finals and won trophies.
In 1979, Muller moved to Fort Ludderdale Strikers, where he played until 1981. For the American team, Gerd scored 40 goals in 80 matches.
For his entire playing career in clubs, of which there were only three, the striker scored 489 goals for 564 matches held. This is an incredible amount, and so far no one of the German players has managed to beat this record.
German national team
Gerd Muller spoke for his national team from 1966 to 1974. Prior to that, he, however, for some time (about a year) was a player in the national team of the Federal Republic of Germany under 23 years old. There he played one match, in which, incidentally, scored a goal.
But then he became a player in an adult team. He played for her in 62 matches and scored 68 goals. Gerd Muller scored goals simply fantastic. It is not surprising that he is appreciated and respected throughout Germany. And how many goals did Gerd Muller score during his entire professional football career? This is an interesting question. For 627 matches (the total number of games for both clubs and the national team), he scored 558 goals! It is not surprising that so far no one has beat Gerd Mueller's record.
Personal titles
This football player is the owner of a whole constellation of sports records. So, he is the top scorer of the world championships (if you take as of 2004). He scored as many as 14 goals. He was also recognized as the top scorer of the national team of the Federal Republic of Germany (and of course, why: not everyone managed to score 68 goals in 62 matches). He scored 70 goals in games that took place as part of the European Cups. This is also considered a record achievement. And of course, it was Gerd Muller who holds the honorary title of the most productive football player in the history of the German championship. In five games of the Bundesliga, he managed to draw five goals each.
What is interesting to know
As you can judge from all of the above, Gerd is truly a scorer from God. However, not everyone knows that when the young Mueller, who was barely 19 years old, appeared in Bavaria, dubious looks began to be thrown at him. Most of Gerd’s future partners were very skeptical of the new player, showing their uncertainty that this guy, who was so clumsy in appearance, was able to perfectly control the ball. For example, Sepp Mayer, the goalkeeper of the club, said that their team, when they first saw Gerd, laughed almost to tears. Chubby, rosy-cheeked, with short hair and seemingly crooked legs and an overly large torso - this is how he appeared before them. Muller, apparently, did not expect such a reaction, so he introduced himself very uncertainly, saying that he was a scorer from Nerdlingen. The composition laughed again. Everything was very comical. However, when the German footballers first saw him in action, that is, on the field, their ridicule ceased once and for all.
A family
There is one more interesting fact, about which not everyone knows. On weekends, Gerd Müller was a Bavaria thunderstorm, a scorer from God, and on weekdays ... an ordinary worker in a print factory. The young man from childhood tried to earn money on farms as a laborer. As they say, life made. Gerd was the sixth child. He was born, by the way, in a poor peasant family and, moreover, at the age of fifteen he lost his father. A harsh life began, and due to the fact that he had to work, Mueller missed school. It is not known how his life would have developed if it had not been for the craving for football, which made Gerda the most famous football player in Germany.
Style and technique
Gerd Muller is truly the owner of a unique soccer gift, which is not given to every player. It was simply unrealistic for the defenders of the opposing team to take the ball away from the young man - he managed to break through it through almost any obstacles. In addition, Gerd stood perfectly on his feet. It was almost impossible to bring down. And plus everything, he possessed an inexplicable instinct. It was truly supernatural, since Müller managed to find himself, as they say, in the right place and at the right time. That is, where the ball came. He knew how to predict this place, even if an incredible rebound was obvious.
And goals are a completely separate issue! He scored them in the most incredible situations. Mueller could push the ball with his hip into the goal, send him back, knee and even heel. Sometimes some goals seemed even ridiculous from the side. But nobody cared. Goals brought the team victory, and this was the most important.
Munich “Bavaria”
This is the greatest German club. Gerd Müller spent most of his career in it. Interestingly, this talented footballer did not immediately like the coach of the team, which was then Zlatko Tchaikovsky. He believed that the team should consist of elegant footballers, and not of farmers. But how did everything work out as a result? Gerd continued to bring victory and delight fans, and Zlatko left the coaching post in 1968.
By the way, the talent and surname of this football player in our time is an occasion for debate and speculation. Many people still puzzle over the eternal question: Gerd Muller and Thomas Muller - are they relatives? Actually, no, and this has been proven more than once. However, both of them are talented and excellent players, besides namesakes. Thomas himself was pleased to tell in one of the many interviews that Gerd was a great role model for him. Muller, Jr. (you can call it that), says that he met a legend very young, then he still played for lovers. Gerd from the very beginning began to understand and support him perfectly. He always gave advice to Thomas and helped him develop. Indeed, from 1992 to 2014, Gerd was the coach of the second composition of the “Bavaria” - so the athletes met.
Life after football
The world champion in 1974, Europe in 1972, the four-time winner of the championship of Germany - this is only a small part of the achievements of the player. He won the European Cup three times. More than once became a champion (as mentioned above). And of course, I got the Intercontinental Cup. But in 1981, Gerd ended his player career. After that, he was overtaken by severe depression. The legendary football player became addicted to alcohol and go into binges. But this in no way left his friends and former partners in the “Bavaria” indifferent. They persuaded the footballer to undergo rehabilitation and invited them to coach the children who play for the amateur team of Bavaria.
Unfortunately, in 2015, in the beginning of autumn, Gerd Müller was taken to a nursing home, where he was treated for Alzheimer's disease. The incident greatly saddened all his friends, fans and people who respect Gerd as a football player and as a person. But they are all sure that the legendary athlete will overcome this ailment. After all, this is a strong personality who loves life and is always in a positive mood.