Gerd Muller-An Extreme Striker

Gerd Muller-An Extreme Striker

Gerd Muller

   Gerhard "Gerd" Muller (German pronunciation) was one of the greatest German soccer player ever. He is also called “Der Bomber” in Germany and he was born 3 November 1945 in Nordlingen, Germany. He was the highest goal scorer in the FIFA World Cup, before Brazilian Ronaldo. He was a creative striker renowned for his clinical finishing, especially inside the penalty box area. He is regarded as one of the greatest goal-scorers of all time.

   In his football careear, Gerd Muller played for West Germany and he scored 68 goals in 62 appearances in International level. And in his professional football life at club level, after fifteen years with Bayern Munich, he scored a record 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and an international record of 66 goals in 74 European club games. This world famous German striker scored averaging more than a goal a game with West Germany. Gerd Muller was named European Footballer of the Year in 1970 after a successful season at Bayern Munich and he was the first German to win that award. He also got the West German Footballer of the Year for two times (1967 and 1969).

   Gerd Muller scored 10 goals at the 1970 World Cup football for West Germany where he received the Golden Boot as top goal-scorer (Officially Golden Boot Award was not given then, but players were known as the top-scorer in the certain tournament). while French footballer Just Fontaine scored 13 goals at a single World Cup football tournament in 1958 world cup football and France got third place at the certain World cup.

Gerd Muller

   In 1999, Gerd Muller was ranked ninth in the European player of the Century election held by the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History & Statistics), and he was voted as thirteenth place in the IFFHS' World Player of the Century election. In 2004, the football great “Pele” named Gerd Muller in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.

For the Country (In West-German National Football Team):

   Gerd Muller scored 68 goals in 62 games for his country, West Germany. In 1966 Gerd Muller had made his debut for the West German national team, with whom he had his greatest successes. He scored 10 goals in the final rounds of the 1970 World Cup football, leading all scorers in the competition, as West Germany captured third place in 1970 football World Cup.

   Gerd Muller had been Germany's all time leading scorer for almost 40 years until Miroslav Klose surpassed him on 6 June 2014, but required more caps to do so. His international career started in 1966 and ended on 7 July 1974 with victory at the 1974 World Cup football at his home stadium in Munich. He scored the winning goal for the 2–1 victory over the Netherlands in the final match. 

   Gerd Muller scored four goals in 1974 FIFA World Cup Football tournament and his ten goals at the 1970 World Cup combined made him the all-time highest World Cup goal-scorer at the time with 14 goals. Later World Cups also having more games than in Gerd Muller's era. This record stood until the 2006 tournament and coincidentally that World Cup Football tournament was held in Germany. In that World Cup, Gerd Muller’s highest goals record (14 goals) was broken by Brazilian striker Ronaldo on 27 June, playing against Ghana. Although Ronaldo achieved it by playing in one more FIFA World Cup (1998, 2002 and 2006-Ronaldo was also in 1994 Brazilian World Cup Squad, but he didn’t get in any match). The new record of the highest goal scorer in Football World Cups is titled by Gerd Muller's fellow countryman, Miroslav Kolse, in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (Miroslav Kolse played four football world cup-2002, 2006, 2010 ad 2014 to break that record). 

   Gerd Muller also participated in the 1972 European Championship, becoming top scorer with four goals (including two in the final) and winning the Championship with the West German team. 

   He suddenly retired from international competition at age 28 after winning the FIFA World Cup in 1974 for his country, which was held in his county and at 7 July 1974 in his home ground “Munich” after winning the final match.

Club football Career:

For Bayern Munich:

   To born in Nordlingen, Germany, Gerd Muller started his football career in his home town soccer club. He was a legendary schoolboy footballer, scoring 180 goals in the 1962–63 season for the youth side of the TSV 1861 Nordlingen club.

   In 1964 he signed with Bayern Munich, which was in the West German second division at the time. Gerd Muller joined “FC Bayern Munich” in 1964 where he teamed up with German future stars Franz Beckenbauer and Sepp Maier. He became one of the key figures along with Franz Beckenbauer and Sepp Maier in turning Bayern Munich into the most storied soccer club in German football history.

   The club, which would go on to become the most successful German club in history was then still in the “Regional League South”, which was one level below the Bundesliga at the time. After one season, Bayern Munich advanced to the Bundesliga (Germany’s highest level of football) in 1965 and the team captured the German Cup in its first season in the Bundesliga and started a long string of successes. 

   With his club-Bayern Munich, Gerd Muller amassed titles during the 60s and 70s. He won the German Championship four times, the DFB-Pokal four times, the European Championship three times, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Cup Winners’ Cup once. An extremely talented goal-scorer, he also became German top scorer seven times and European top scorer twice.
 

   Gerd Muller scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches for Bayern Munich, almost 100 goals more than the second most successful Bundesliga scorer, Klaus Fischer. He holds the single-season Bundesliga record with 40 goals in season 1971-72. 

   Gerd Muller held the record for most goals scored in a calendar year, striking 85 goals in 1972, until his record was broken on 9 December 2012 by Argentine footballer Lionel Messi with Spanish club FC Barcelona. Gerd Muller’s record of 66 goals in 74 appearances in European Cups was exceeded by Spanish footballer Raul in the 2010 campaign, while playing for the German club Schalke 04.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers:

   After his career in the Bundesliga he went to the United States, and where he joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League in 1979. Gerd Muller played three seasons with this team and scoring 38 goals. He was able to reach in the NASL final once in 1980, but his team was lost in that league final. 

Gerd Muller

Life after his football Career:

   After Gerd Muller ended his career in 1982, he fell into a fall and suffered from alcoholism. However, his former companions at Bayern Munich convinced him to go through alcohol rehabilitation. When he emerged, they gave him a job as a coach at Bayern Munich junior team, where he still works for his soccer club to this day. 

   There is also a collection of apparel released by sporting giants “Adidas” under the Gerd Muller name. It is part of the Adidas originals series. In July 2008, the Rieser Sportpark, in Nordlingen, where Gerd Muller had begun his career, was renamed the “Gerd-Muller-Stadion” in his honor.

Want to know about more famous footballers...   Click Here