World Soccer - UK (2021-10)

GerdMuller

Enduringrancouroverhisabruptexit

meantitwasnotuntilSeptember20,

1983 , thathewas honouredwitha

“farewell match”betweenBayernand

theWestGermannationalteamin

theMunichOlympicStadium.

Thelate 1 970swerethehigh

daysofthe razzmatazzthatwas

thedoomedNorthAmericanSoccer

League. Beckenbauerhadleft forNew

YorkCosmosin 19 77.Mulleralways

insisted he wouldnevergo andanyway,

hespoke no English.Butthe money was

toogoodto turn down.Mullerscored

40 goalsinthree seasonsforFort

LauderdaleStrikersand pouredhis

earningsintoasteakhouse.

Theinvestmentturnedsour. Fading

gloryandboredomsentMullerspiralling

intodepressionandalcoholism.He

spenttoo muchtimedrinkingwith

holidayingfansandnot enoughtime

onthe business.Later he said:“I did

notrealisewhatwas happening,I just

didnot know.Then,theycamealong

andsavedme from it.”

“They”wereMuller’soldteam-mates,

Beckenbauer andUliHoeness,by now

Bayernpresident andgeneralmanager

respectively. Theywereshockedbythe

MullertheyfoundinFlorida,brought

himbacktoMunich,supported him

througha brutal treatmentregime

thenputhimtowork, coachingthe

youngsters.Laterhe wouldadmit:

“Overcomingmyaddictiontoalcohol

wasmy greatest victory,evenmore

importantthanwinningtheWorldCup.”

TributesonMuller’sdeath were

appropriatelygenerous.

BayernpresidentHerbertHainer,the

formeradidasboss,hailed“thegreatest

strikertherehaseverbeen– anda fine

person,a personality in worldfootball.

WithoutGerdMuller, FC Bayern would

notbetheclubwealllovetoday.His

nameandthe

memoryof him

willliveon forever.”

OliverKahn,

whorecently

succeeded

Rummenigge

asCEO,said:

“Hehasbeenoneofthe greatest

legendsinthe historyofFCBayern.

Hisachievements areunrivalled.Asa

player anda person,GerdMullerstands

forFC Bayernandits developmentinto

oneofthebiggestclubsin theworld

likeno other. Gerdwillforeverbe

inour hearts.”

Muller, whowas awardedFIFA’s

OrderofMeritforservicestothe

gamein 19 98,issurvivedbywife

UschianddaughterNicole.

theYearin 1967 and 1969 and
thenEuropeanFootballeroftheYear
in 19 70.It wasnocontest.Hehad
top-scoredattheWorldCup in Mexico
withtengoals, includingthe close-
range,extra-timevolleythatbeat
Englandsodramaticallyinthe
quarter-finals.
“Heis my scorer of ‘little’ goals,”
saidHelmutSchon,managerofthe
WestGermansidewhoachieved the
covetedEuropeanand worlddouble.
DerBomberscoredtwice in the3-0
defeatofthe SovietUnioninthe 1972
EuropeanChampionshipfinal,thenthe
winneragainsttheNetherlands in the
1974 WorldCupdecideronMuller’s
hometurf in Munich.
SchonunderstoodwellthatMuller’s
specifictalentlayinfinishingoff moves
fromcloserange in andaroundthe
six-yardbox.He wasallaboutrapid
anticipationandsplit-secondexplosion.
Hiswinner againsttheDutchwasthe
finestandmostimportantexample
ofa “little” goal.
Theteamswerelockedat1-1with
twominutesremaininginthe first half
whenRainerBonhofescapeddownthe
Germanright wing.Muller, apparently
offbalanceatthenearpost,had to
swivelonBonhof’sshortcrossand
shootall in onemovement. Hisacute
senseofgoalwas allittooktojabthe
ballbeyond keeperJanJongbloedfor
whatprovedthewinner.
Infact,Mullershouldhavebeen
creditedwith a secondgoalafter the
interval.Heacceleratedclearofthe
Dutch defencetobeatJongbloed
again,onlytobeflaggedoffside.
RefereeJackTaylorandhis
linesman,deceivedby Muller’s
quicknessofthoughtandaction,
dulydisallowed the“goal”.Even
Muller’steam-matesacceptedthe
decision,raisingnotonewhisper
ofprotest.Yet slow-motionreruns
provethatMullerwas safelyonside
whenthe passwashit.
“Iwas contentI’d madetheright
decision,” saidTayloryearslater. “Muller
wasyardsclearofthe last defender.
ButwhenIsawtheslow-motionrerun
I sawI’d beenwrong.Mullerhadbeen
tooquickfor hisowngood!”
Mullerretired from thenational
teamafter theWorldCuptriumphbut
played on withBayern untilearly 1 979.
Then,disaffectedwiththegamein
generalandupsetatbeingsubstituted
bycoachPalCsernaiina defeatat
EintrachtFrankfurt,hedecided to quit
altogether. Muller’slast goalforBayern
wasin a 2-1 defeatbyKaiserslautern
onNovember 18 , 1 978 ; hislast game
wasa 4-0win over BorussiaDortmund
onFebruary 10 , 1 97 9.

Germanchampions...

Mullerholdsaloft

Bayern’ssecond

Bundesligatrophy

Room-mates...BeckenbauerandMulleratNew

YorkCosmosandFortLauderdaleStrikersin1 980

“WithoutGerd,we wouldneverhavehadthat

success...hewasn’tthebest player buthewas

themost important.GerdwastheMVP”

FranzBeckenbauer,Muller’steam-mateandroom-mate