Thomas Müller is particularly looking forward to the international match between Germany and Elftal. The classic is not only a football highlight, but also unites Müller with Bonds coach Louis van Gaal.
It’s been twelve and a half years since a lanky, less filigree and hitherto unknown striker set out to help shape German football for years to come. We are of course talking about none other than Thomas Müller.
But what would have happened if FC Bayern hadn’t hired Louis van Gaal as coach at that point?
“With Thomas Müller, you think he’s a district league player. How can it be that he’s so good?” Bastian Schweinsteiger wonders in the Amazon documentary “FC Bayern – Behind the Legend”.
One cannot blame him for his astonishment. While a blind person could have seen that players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Arjen Robben were great kickers, Müller had to look harder. After all, Raumdeuter comes more from the game without the ball and his unconventional ideas than from speed or technique.
In fact, the great talent in Müller could easily have been overlooked. The fact that this was not the case is primarily due to two people: Hermann Gerland, who prevented a move to Hoffenheim in 2008, and Louis van Gaal.
“Müller always plays,” said the former Bayern coach in the early stages of his tenure, stunning one or two journalists. This Müller had a well-known name in Munich thanks to his namesake Gerd Müller, but had only played 28 minutes in the Bundesliga up to that point.
Unlike Pep Guardiola, where every Bayern professional was a “super, super player” and who would have liked to have “had 1000 Dantes”, the Dutchman’s words also had a clear message behind them. Müller played all 34 Bundesliga games in the 2009/10 season and started his great career. By the 2010 World Cup at the latest, everyone – including Diego Maradona – found out about the player’s very special qualities.
So it’s no wonder that the 32-year-old is looking forward to meeting van Gaal. “I’m looking forward to seeing him again in person and exchanging a few words with him,” he said during a PK with the DFB team. Although van Gaal only stayed in Munich for a year and a half, it is not without reason that many see him as the cornerstone of the successful period that followed.
Van Gaal changed Bayern Munich. Not only because of Müller, but also because of Badstuber, Robben’s commitment and the revolution from Klinsmann’s rumbling football to dominant, technically fine and fast wing play.
“Despite his relatively short tenure, Louis van Gaal left a lasting impression – at Bayern Munich and in German football,” Müller remembers well of the time that almost brought about a treble in 2010.
Van Gaal may be a strange character at times – after all, even his daughters have to use his initials – but his great belief in Müller’s abilities was only one thing: genius!
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