Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (German pronunciation:[ˈɡɛʁtˈmʏlɐ]; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021)[2] was a German professional
footballer. A prolific
striker, 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.
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 4 goals in the
1974 FIFA World Cup, including the winning goal in the
final.
Born 3 November 1945, in
Nördlingen, Germany, Müller began his football career at his hometown club
TSV 1861 Nördlingen youth ranks in 1958. Aged 18, 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 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] He also held the record for most club goals scored in all competitions in Europe, with 67 until being surpassed by Messi in 2012.[11]
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.[14] Müller's international career started in 1966 and ended on 7 July 1974 with victory at the
1974 FIFA World Cup at his
home stadium in Munich.[15] 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 FIFA World Cup combined made him the all-time highest
FIFA 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 FIFA World Cup triumph following an argument with the
German Football Association (DFB) 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 1981, 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.[16][17]
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."[21]
Müller used extreme acceleration and deceptive changes of pace to get to loose balls first, and bypass defenders.[22] 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."[23]
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.[35][36] However, Müller managed to score eight hat-tricks in his international career.[37]
^Lomas, Mark (28 May 2010).
"Gerd Muller: Der Bomber". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN.
Archived 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).
Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.(subscription required)
^Schaaf, Susie (10 December 2012).
"The Reason". ESPN.com.
Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
^"PlayersBios". hallofchampions.com.
Archived from the original on 4 July 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
^"Beckenbauer schwelgt in Erinnerungen" [Beckenbauer revels in memories]. UEFA.
Archived 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.
^Hartmann, Ulrich (11 May 2010).
""Ich könnte heulen"" [I could cry] (in German). Sueddeutsche.de.
Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2014.