Germany and Bayern Munich legend Gerd Muller, who held numerous goalscoring records, passed away aged 75 on August 15 (Sunday).
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Legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly once said, “Football is a simple game complicated by idiots”. Whether he was right, wrong or somewhere in between is up for debate. But if ever there was a man who showcased the simpler side of football, it was Gerd Muller.
The legendary Bayern Munich and Germany striker, who passed away on August 15 (Sunday), was known for doing one thing well – scoring goals.
You could argue that is true of any striker. But Muller’s addiction to finding the back of the net saw him rack up numerous goalscoring records. That they stood the test of time is testament to his greatness.
Modern football is a very different game from how things were in the late 1900s. Yet even keeping that in mind, Muller’s goalscoring numbers are surreal.
365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games for Bayern Munich. 66 in 74 European games. 68 in 62 international games, 14 of which came in the World Cup.
Der Bomber, as he was nicknamed, never saw himself as the best creative presence or runner. No, his talent was goalscoring – and he was going to do that in any way possible.
Muller is remembered as being someone with no major physical attributes. The legend goes that he couldn’t run, didn’t possess much stamina, but could stick them in the net. That’s not exactly true.
Muller was pacy – over short distances, that is. But that is all he needed. His game revolved around making quick runs into the box and applying the finishing touches. As such, he never needed to have the fitness of an endurance athlete.
But an often overlooked attribute is his low centre of gravity. It allowed him to turn and find spaces beyond defenders at rapid pace, and aided his goalscoring exploits significantly.
Muller’s exploits with Bayern Munich are well known. What is often forgotten, however, is that when he signed with the Bavarian giants, they were nowhere close to being the force they are now.
Muller signed with Bayern when they were in the second division, winning promotion with them a year afterwards. That would be the start of their era of dominance.
Muller’s goals powered them to DFB Pokal, the Cup Winners’ Cup, their first four Bundesliga titles and three straight European Cups.
The Bayern of today owe a lot to Muller, something they acknowledged when announcing his passing.
“The FC Bayern world is standing still today. The club and all its fans are mourning the death of Gerd Müller, who passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 75,” read their statement.
“Today is a sad, dark day for FC Bayern and all its fans,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer added.
“Gerd Muller was the greatest striker there’s ever been, and a fine person and character of world football. We’re all united in deep mourning with his wife Uschi as well as his family.
“FC Bayern wouldn’t be the club we all love today without Gerd Muller. His name and memory will live on forever.”
Indeed, the world of football is poorer without Der Bomber in it. But his legacy and achievements will always persist.
