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Having been with the membership for the previous 24 years, Thomas Müller took his rightful place among the many venerable Bayern Munich greats by changing into the Bundesliga large’s file look maker on Sunday.
Regardless of discovering first-team minutes somewhat onerous to come back by this season, the 34-year-old ahead began in Bayern’s 2-0 win over Freiburg to play within the 710th aggressive sport of his distinguished profession, greater than every other Bayern participant in historical past.
Born in a small city round 30 miles south of Munich, Müller joined the Bavarians as a 10-year-old in the summertime of 2000 and made his approach via the ranks, excelling at youth degree earlier than ultimately making his first-team debut throughout the 2008-09 season below then-coach Jürgen Klinsmann.
Regardless of trying as if he has barely aged a day since, the 34-year-old has represented Bayern in 17 seasons and has now surpassed the nice Sepp Maier to achieve the highest of the membership’s look listing.
Müller has coupled his phenomenal endurance with a trophy haul to match: 12 Bundesliga titles (together with 11 consecutive championships claimed between 2012-13 and 2022-23), in addition to six German Cups, eight German Super Cups, two Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups, plus quite a lot of particular person goal-scoring awards and accolades.
Müller has weighed in with 245 objectives in all competitions, which places him third on Bayern’s star-studded listing of all-time prime objective scorers behind solely Robert Lewandowski (344 objectives in 375 video games) and the late, nice Gerd Müller (563 objectives in 605 video games). Not dangerous for a participant who defies description and can’t be simply categorised as a striker, midfielder or winger.
Müller has additionally performed below 11 totally different everlasting head coaches at Bayern: Klinsmann, Jupp Heynckes (in two separate stints), Louis van Gaal, Andries Jonker, Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Niko Kovač, Hansi Flick, Julian Nagelsmann, Thomas Tuchel and the incumbent Vincent Kompany.
Alongside inheriting the membership’s total look file, Müller can even boast having made extra appearances within the Champions League (153 video games), the German Cup (66) and German Tremendous Cup (12) than every other Bayern participant in historical past — and all whereas remaining one of many group’s most enduringly charming and expressive characters.
Munich’s mischief-maker
Müller has grow to be firmly established as a fan favorite among the many Bayern devoted by advantage of his unfaltering effort on the pitch married with a resolutely unserious method away from it.
In the case of Müller’s biggest hits, the archive is deep. There are the previous classics like the awkward dancing and pretending to use a passport as a phone to evade journalists in airport arrivals.
He is additionally unashamedly eager to grab any alternative to don his lederhosen and pose for Oktoberfest-themed images along with his teammates.
The second you’ve got all been ready for… 😎🥨#Paulaner #MiaSanMia #Ad pic.twitter.com/f3YagrB5Ge
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) August 29, 2023
Cementing his place as a person of the individuals, Müller made positive to share the Bundesliga trophy with the Bayern followers by clambering up the stadium fencing and permitting them to the touch the hallowed silver defend after wrapping up the 2021-22 title.
Thomas Muller needed to verify the followers bought the prospect to carry the Bundesliga trophy 🏆👏 pic.twitter.com/vESdtshMtN
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 12, 2022
We can also’t consider many different gamers who would announce contract extensions by faithfully recreating old photographs of their childhood bedrooms.
And if all that weren’t sufficient, Müller has even managed to create his very personal meme template by referring to ex-teammate Robert Lewandowski as “LewanGOALski” throughout a postmatch interview and swiftly breaking the web — effectively, nearly.
🗣”We in Bayern we’ve Robert Lewangoalski… you realize Robert LewandGOALski!” 😭
I feel Thomas Muller’s pun sport isn’t as sturdy as his help making! 🤣@lewy_official @esmuellert_ pic.twitter.com/4bVkGvLtpQ
— Soccer Each day (@footballdaily) June 9, 2020
Who was Sepp Maier?
Having additionally graduated from Bayern’s academy ranks as an adolescent, Maier performed 709 instances for the Bavarian giants between 1962 and 1980. A stalwart for each membership and nation, the legendary goalkeeper gained 4 Bundesliga titles with Bayern in addition to 4 German Cups, three European Cups, the European Cup Winners’ Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup. He was additionally a World Cup winner with Germany in 1974, two years after additionally rising victorious on the 1972 European Championship.
Broadly recognised as one of many biggest goalkeepers of all time, Maier was named German Footballer of the 12 months thrice and shaped a part of Bayern’s indomitable group of the Seventies alongside such fellow luminaries as Franz Beckenbauer and the aforementioned Gerd Müller.
Europe’s one-club males
Thomas Müller’s unwavering allegiance to Bayern makes him one of the distinguished one-club gamers lively right now, having spent 16 consecutive seasons taking part in senior soccer for the Bundesliga giants.
Certainly, the one one in every of Müller’s contemporaries throughout all of Europe’s Large 5 leagues who got here near matching each his loyalty and longevity is veteran centre-back Tony Jantschke, who hung his boots up in the summertime after 16 seasons at German top-tier facet Borussia Mönchengladbach.
There are a couple of extra massive names up on the prime of the listing, however none have spent fairly as lengthy plugging away for a similar membership as Müller (and Jantschke). Within the Spanish prime flight, Iker Muniain, Óscar de Marcos and Koke have begun their sixteenth seasons with Athletic Club and Atletico Madrid respectively.
Nonetheless, it must be famous that Müller continues to be a way wanting being topped the final word one-club man throughout all of European soccer. That esteemed honour goes to 38-year-old Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, who’s now in his twenty second steady season at CSKA Moscow.
