Thomas Muller facts

DER RAMDEUTER

Thomas Muller is one of those rare footballers, whose displays and skills makes them impossible to categorize. Although maybe not as recognized as others in his position, he has long been one of the most dangerous attacking midfielders in the world thanks to his instinctive style, untraceable movement and ability to seemingly always finding himself at the right spot at the right time. Furthermore, he seems to always make the right decisions even at full sprint.

Muller has already achieved amazing success in his career, which include winning the Adidas Golden Boot for finishing as the top scorer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa after netting five goals and providing three assists and in his latest venture, scored 5 goals in the last Brazil World Cup 2014.

The likeable Bavarian, who also won the Best Young Player Award in the 2010 World Cup tournament, is an invaluable member of Germany coach Joachim Low’s squad due to his open, spontaneous and fun personality, as well as his unbending desire to win. He was insulted back then, in the 2010 World Cup, by the then Argentine coach and legend Maradona, who said that he mistook him for a ball boy. Maradona refused to sit in the same press conference as him. His words and actions proved costly for him though as Muller opened the floodgates and scored the first goal against Argentina in their 4-0 defeat to Germany. Who the ball boy now, eh?

Muller has played for Bayern Munich since he was of ten and after making his breakthrough there as a professional under the guidance of coach Louis van Gaal, he has since gone on to win every title available in club football, including the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup.The Bavarian native has also been a pillar of the national team for several years, and is commonly deployed both on the right and in the center by Low. However, these are the stats of his that we are familiar with, when there are so many other facts and factors that culminate together to make Thomas Muller who he is.

Personal life

Muller was born in Weilheim, Upper Bavaria, and grew up in the nearby village of Pähl, which became the center of media attention during his World Cup adventures. Muller's first club was local outfit TSV Pähl and it was evident from an early age that he was meant for bigger things. His parents are Klaudia and Gerhard, and he has a brother, Simon, who is two and a half years younger. In December 2009, he married his long-time girlfriend Lisa Trede, a semi-professional equestrian who works on a farm, after being engaged to her for two years. Lisa is a competitive sportswoman herself in dressage and showjumping. The couple attend Munich's major equestrian events together as often as Muller's football commitments allow it - although he freely admits that watching Lisa competing in the saddle is "more nerve-racking than being out on the pitch". Besides football, he has also given his time to other ventures and in June 2011 he became an ambassador for YoungWings, a charity that helps children who have suffered bereavement or trauma.

Muller sharing an intimate moment with his wife Lisa

Thomas Muller is anything but the typical modern footballer: you won’t hear any extraordinary stories about him falling out of a nightclub or being caught speeding or drunk driving on the street. Even his haircut is pretty tame, preferring to keep his mop in it’s natural color and somewhat unkempt. While the rest of his team mates are squeezing into the modern technologically-advanced torso-hugging shirts, Muller prefers the more traditional baggy look.

Quiet, intelligent, and professional in every respect, Muller is a player who lets his work on the pitch do the talking. Away from football, he is a man who likes to keep things on the low and would rather spend a quiet time at home with Lisa , who herself is very different from the typical wife of a sportsman.

Style of play

Muller calls himself "ramdeuter" (a German word), which translates to 'space investigator.' He named himself as such because his strength as an attacker does not lie in his ability of dribbling, passing or shooting but his ability "in finding space." Müller's role can be described as a complete attacker, an all-rounder up front, a player able to play in various forward positions. Since making it into the first-team, he has been used in more attacking roles. Both Bayern Munich and the German national team usually play a 4-2-3-1 formation, and Muller is most often part of the three attacking midfielders behind the central striker. He can play in any of the attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the center for Bayern Munich, and on the right for Germany. He has also been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion. Muller’s usually kitted up in size 10 Adidas adiZero F50 battle pack boots and gives them full justice, scoring game after game.

Muller has been predominantly noted for his composure; Germany manager Joachim Löw said that he is "impervious to pressure" and former Bayern manager Louis van Gaal said he has tremendous mental strength. An unfailing scorer and creator of goals, he describes himself as a player who can find gaps and create clever spaces in the opposition defense but is not particularly good at dribbling or on one-on-one situations. Watching Muller make his way around the pitch, it takes some time to determine exactly what he actually does. He runs down the wing, but looks awkward in his run and lacks the free-flowing grace like that of Marco Reus or André Schürrle. He can score goals and does so too, but will rarely appear on most pundits’ top list of strikers, cause he’s not your usual everyday striker. Yet Muller’s lack of grace and somewhat relaxed manner is countered by unmatched energy and passion, and his awkwardness is, as his opponents would come to learn, terrifyingly deceptive.

The main component to Muller’s game is not the ability to dribble past opposing defenders and catch the eye of the crowd with dazzling moves, but his guile, intelligence, vision, positioning off the ball and instinctive tactical sense. He is a chess player on the pitch, but more than move everyone around, he works to find the space to place himself or run in. A perfect poacher, he devastatingly capitalizes on his opponents mistakes. There is also his great versatility because of his which he can be deployed on any part of the attacking side of the filed. Possessing both a decent left and right foot he can play on the left, right or through the middle, can shore up the defense when needed and can also play the striker’s role and score goals from anywhere in the box.

Social Media

Not being the usual media hungry kind of superstar, Thomas Muller likes to keep away from the glitz and the glam, but still maintains a line of communication with his fans through his profiles on various social media platforms. You can follow him too, on Facebook - https://de-de.facebook.com/es.muellert.wieder, Instagram – http://instagram.com/officialmuller, and twitter – https://twitter.com/esmuellert_.