Gerd Müller

For the politician, see Gerd Müller (politician)

Gerd “Der Bomber” Müller (IPA—German: ) (born November 3, 1945 in Nördlingen) is a former West German football player.

With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances and 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games, he was by far the most successful striker of his day and perhaps any other. His nicknames are “Bomber der Nation” (the nation's Bomber) and “kleines dickes Müller” (short fat Müller, declension intentionally wrong).

Biography

Bayern Munich

Born in Nördlingen, Germany, he began his football career at the TSV 1961 Nördlingen. Müller joined FC Bayern München 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 60s and 70s: He won the German Championship four times, the German Cup four times, the European Champions' Cup three times, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup once. A supremely opportunistic goal-scorer, he also became German top scorer seven times and European top scorer twice. Müller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches for Bayern Munich, almost 100 goals more than the second most successful Bundesliga scorer, Klaus Fischer. He also scored 66 goals in his 74 appearances at European cups, still a record. He is also one of the very few players of 50 or more caps to score more goals than he has games played. Not even Pele can claim this distinction.

The national team

Müller scored 68 goals in 62 games for Germany. His career in the national team started in 1966 and ended on July 7, 1974 with the win of the World Cup at his home stadium in Munich. He scored the winning goal for the 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the final. His four goals in that tournament and his ten goals at the 1970 FIFA World Cup combined made him the most successful striker at the time. His record of scoring 14 goals in World Cup finals stood until the 2006 tournament, coincidentally held in Germany, when it was broken by Brazil’s Ronaldo on June 27 2006 playing against Ghana; Ronaldo has played in four World Cups and scored in three. Müller also participated in the 1972 European Championship, becoming top scorer with four goals and winning the Championship with the German team.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

After his career in the Bundesliga he went to the USA, where he joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League in 1979. He played three seasons with this team, scoring 38 goals, and once reaching, but losing, the league final.

Life after football

After Müller ended his career in 1982, he fell into a slump and developed an alcohol addiction. But his former companions at Bayern Munich convinced him to go through alcohol rehabilitation. When he emerged, they gave him a job as an amateur coach at Bayern Munich, where he still works as of 2006. 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.

Playing style

Müller was short, squat, awkward-looking and not notably fast; he never fit 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 strangely low centre 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.

Honors

Titles with Bayern Munich

Bundesliga: 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974
German Cup: 1966, 1967, 1969, 1971
European Champions’ Cup: 1974, 1975, 1976
Intercontinental Cup: 1976
Cup Winners’ Cup: 1967

Titles with the national team

Personal honors

German top scorer: 1967, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978
European top scorer: 1970, 1972
World Cup top scorer: 1970
European Championship top scorer: 1972
German Footballer of the Year: 1967, 1969
European Footballer of the Year: 1970
World Football's Greatest Goalscorer of All Time: 2000

External links

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