Thomas Muller - God of Space | The Deutsche Qualität

" Stepovers, tricks, that's not the game. The game is what Thomas Muller is doing. " - Thierry Henry

What makes a footballer legendary? His ability to dribble? Ruthlessness in front of the goal? Vision and passing ability? His pace? Thomas Muller isn’t the answer to any of those questions, yet he is the answer to all of them.

A thread about the spaceman from another Galaxy !

Unlike the narrative, Thomas Muller was a bright kid. Sir Alex Ferguson himself who named Toto among his top transfer failures, said : "Thomas Muller was a 10-year-old playing for an amateur team few miles from Munich when i first heard about him”

Ferguson added : “We had him watched but the following day he committed himself to Bayern Munich.”

In the summer of 2000, 10 y.o Muller joined Bayern and quickly set about climbing through the club ranks.

He enjoyed a breakout season with the Under-19s in 2007/08, hitting 18 goals in 26 games - and catching the eye of then head coach Jürgen Klinsmann.

Müller admitted : "I didn't pick up the phone at first but when I listened to my voicemail later, it was Jürgen Klinsmann."

It took 2 years before Muller really began to make a name for himself. 09/10 the legendary Van Gaal was appointed as a coach.

The new boss instantly recognized Müller's immense potential. The eye for details, for Van Gaal the kid was already his MOST important player.

For someone with just 28 minutes of top-flight football under his belt - Müller featured in every single game of the season !!! Repaying Van Gaal's faith with 13 GOALS and 10 ASSISTS as Bayern completed a Bundesliga and DFB Cup double and losing the UCL final

"Thomas Müller will always play in my team," Van Gaal famously said at the time.

20 y.o Muller became :
Young Player of the Year
Bundesliga team of the season

And ready to shake the world in the #WC2010 in South Africa.

Germany lost in the semi-finals to Spain, Müller was of course suspended that game but he flew back home from South Africa with the Golden Boot and a growing reputation as one of world football's fine players.

Golden Boot | 5 Goals x 3 assists
Best Young Player

The mechanics of the Müller effect are simple enough - quick passes forward, fewer touches, perfect crosses, well-timed runs, and clinical execution - but the devil is in the detail.

As Heynckes once said : This type of player does not exist in the whole of Europe.

Thomas might be the most complete footballer while being the most average one, there's nothing he can't do and that's what makes him so dangerous to face.

Unpredictable!

In 2014, when Guardiola was appointed as a coach all the pundits expected Thomas Muller to be his first victim but what people forgot is that dribbling isn't the most important thing for Pep... POSITIONING, on the other hand, is fundamental to Guardiola.

While they weren't best friends, Muller/Guardiola improved each other. Guardiola added a lot to Muller's game and Pep benefited from coaching the Raumdeuter.

Thomas Müller played in 90% of the games under Guardiola and even found his best scoring form in those 3 years.

Thomas isn't a clinical finisher but he was decisive in lot of big games he played - Clutch! He even scored in the CL final what would have been such a beautiful goal in Munich, few miles from his hometown to win the most prestigious title but Drogba decided otherwise.

Thomas does also not have the vision of Andres Iniesta but his intelligence makes him aware of everyone on the pitch, Lewandowski once said : "Every second Thomas knows where I am, how I move. It’s the same case the other way around. We don’t even have to talk on the pitch."

He isn't strong like Robert Lewandowski, can't head the ball like Ronaldo, can't pass like Toni Kroos, can't run like G.Bale, can't dribble like Messi, yet if you ask any of his coaches they'll say he does everything PERFECTLY on the pitch.

The secret is simple: "I just try not to pretend to be something I'm not". - Thomas Muller

What's crazy about Muller is that he is extremely intelligent and self-aware, he knows his weaknesses better than anyone and his strengths, he knows what he can and cannot do.

The 2nd thing, his analytical mind! Thomas before the Man City / Real Madrid #UCL game said : " Pep is always a little torn between paying extreme attention and respect to the strengths of the opposition and sticking to his convictions and to a system he believes in."

This is absolutely true, the game vs. Lyon proved it. So, if Thomas can read Guardiola like a book trust me, he can read any opponent and his weaknesses and he would usually place himself exactly where it hurts.

WILD WILD WEST | That's how Muller described the period after Guardiola... While Ancelotti admired him, the two didn't hit it off and Muller was ready to leave after one year under the Italian coach who will be fired after the humiliation against PSG.

Heynckes came back for a short period and Muller already looked much better on the pitch but it wasn't enough and many started doubting his ability to deliver in big games, the world cup 2018, and the appointment of Niko Kovac, later on, will make things worse for Thomas.

At a certain age, any footballer has to go through the phase of rebranding himself, it took a while but Thomas Muller didn't disappoint us. Hansi Flick played a major role in giving Thomas the confidence he needed and lacked with previous coaches but most importantly he gave the

team the structure Thomas needs to perform.

Thomas Muller went from being the unpredictable goalscorer to the smart playmaker, once again breaking records, becoming the 3rd player to reach 20 assists in a single season in a top-five league since 06/07, also did it in fewer games

Muller reached 20 assists without taking freekicks, corners, etc... All his assists are from open play, playing alongside a killer like Lewandowski is indeed a plus but Robert never scored as many goals as he did this season and the new Thomas is a big reason why !

"I have to be involved in the combinations, make my runs without the ball, go deep." - Thomas Muller

His goalscoring figures may have dropped slightly over the past few seasons but Muller was never as involved in the build-up as he is today.

The END

Thomas Muller by numbers :

- #Bundesliga : 351 Games | 118 Goals | 145 Assists
- #UCL : 115 Games | 46 Goals | 23 Assists
- #Pokal : 56 Games | 32 Goals | 23 Assists
- #Worldcup : 16 Games | 10 Goals | 6 Assists
- National Team : 100 Games | 38 Goals | 36 Assists

Thomas Muller by Titles :

- 9 Bundesligas.
- 6 Pokals.
- 2 Champions Leagues
- 1 World cup
- 1 Fifa club world cup
- 1 Uefa Super cup
- 5 German super cup
- 2 Trebles

Thomas Muller is :

- 3rd highest goalscorer in the UCL knockout stage.
- 10th highest goalscorer in the #UCL.
- 7th highest goalscorer in the #WC.
- Assist record in the Bundesliga.
- 5th in the ballon d'Or 2014 | 6th in 2015.
- FIFA World Cup Golden and Silver boot

etc...

Thomas Muller is the player every team should dream off, the team worker, the fighter, the beating heart of BAYERN!

OUR LEGEND !