gerd is living proof you can be a legend and still be underated. one of the first picks on my alltime XI
here the video of his 1 yard tap in against liverpool european cup 1971....no videofootage of his other goal and no videofootage of his action where he hit the post available....typical müller bum action.... in contrast his poacher bum 1 foot tap in against steau bucarest european cup 1972...this away goal has eliminated steau.....
An OLD British football "saw" encapsulates why Muller was a GREAT player quite well IMO: "By head or by bum- they all count for one!"
It is an exaggeration to say he only scored tap-ins. One only needs to watch some games that it isn't true. On the other hand, if a player scores over 1000 goals in his career, invariably a number of them will be spectacular ones, regardless of the individual attributes a player possesses. This is certainly the case if a player is plying his trade in an 'open' and trigger-happy league. A 1970 World Cup book, written by McIlvanney and Hopcraft typified Muller in this way: "In Germany they say there should be a law against him in the penalty area, where his thick, heavy-thighed physique does not stop him from demonstrating a swift, economical agility on the ground and in the air. His positioning is inspired and, although his control is moderate, he is one of the rare breed of apparently ordinary forwards who become giants when presented with the remotest chance of scoring a goal." A 1973 encyclopaedia I own says: "A deadly finisher with either foot or with his head. He may not score the long-range goals that Seeler did, but such are his poaching skills that it needs just the slightest defensive error in the penalty area for Müller to pounce." True, the comparison with his national team predecessor Seeler returned once in a while and seen in that way Müller loses the comparison if it is about mobility, top speed, completeness and touch. During Müller his time some other scorers excelled in the person of Heynckes and Fischer: http://www.rsssf.com/tablesd/duittops.html#allt While neither of them had the "one chance = a goal" ability of Müller (which is very hard, to score immediately at the first chance), it can be said that Fischer produced more spectacular shots (most famously his bicycle kicks but also half-volleys and the like) and Heynckes was with the ball at his feet the pacier and more skilled player (which made him useful at the wings). So, it is understandable that relative to other (German) strikers certain conceptions about Müller developed. I recognise 'skill' is very subjective but the differences with Heynckes, Fischer and Seeler from a technical and positional point of view are noticeable (also on the 'plus' side of Müller by the way). Finally, Müller himself did not reject this view of a "mere poacher" in interviews. I'll take an English source as example. In the 12th edition of the International Football Book he talks about his own style and says that in the way he plays scoring goals is a team-effort. He sees himself as immobile (often confused with 'lazy'), slow in running (not acceleration obviously) and answers in general the question why "more skilled players have failed to make the grade." It might be modesty on his part ("without false modesty I can say I'm a goalscorer") but it is nevertheless good to note. It is good to post as well the words of his trainer of Nordlingen that he remembers. This trainer Munzinger said: "There are players who look good with the ball, but those that really count are the ones able to concentrate, and willing to chase everything [that arrives in the penalty box]. Absolute concentration and dedication from the first second to last makes the difference between a real centre-forward and a [skilled] player who just wears a nine on his back."
this is definitiv the wrong description..... a person where point out müller has scored only -tap ins- suggest ...Example: all of his 365 goals scored in bundesliga games was -tap ins-.....the definition and meaning of the word -exaggeration- you use is plain and simple useless..... a person where point out müller has scored only -tap ins- is, A: a idiot B: a hater C: a person where has no clue D: or a combination of A:B:C a important question olso is how many of gerd müllers bundesliga goals are available on video for the publik !!! ....how many of his goals available on video are -tap ins-.!!! (100%.???70%???,50%???,30%??? 15%???)....and what is a -tap in- , (judging the action)....there must be the same rule for every player!!! in contrast van bastens record 25 goal season serie a 1991/92 how many of his goals can be descriptped -tap ins-....let me know..so i get a better perspective.... a sidenote.....a while ago gregoriak has postet a kickerarticle where its mentioned MANY of müllers 23 goals season 1974/75 was scored with penaltys...i have counted 4 penaltys!!!..bayern munich has created in season 1974/75 seven (7) penaltys, 6 of them was created from gerd müller.....2 of gerd müllers created penaltys was scored sucessful from his teammates... the video of van bastens 25 goals confirm 9 penaltys of his 25 goals????.....have the italien sportnewspapers ever pointed -many of van bastens goals was penaltys??? or it wasnt important to mention??....
This was his own 'all-time team' by the way, as revealed to FFT in December 2012. Maier; Fachetti, Schwarzenbeck, Beckenbauer, Lizerazu; Matthaus, Walter, Cruyff; Maradona, Pelé, Van Basten Subs: Banks, Breitner, Di Stefano, Zidane, Messi Coach: Cajkovski [I cut it in three parts; can be find back in December 2012 issue, page 154]
It's nice to see Walter getting a nod: he's so often forgotten when great players are discussed (even German ones)...
I know Gerd Mueller personally since long time. And I talked with him about Messi and his "record". Gerd said that he played less games. But the main comment from him was that Messi was hunting his record, but Gerd did not hunt any record. The goals just happened. He said that he think that he could have made around 10 goals more but he gave the ball to a other team player. Another thing: Everybody who say that Gerd Mueller could not play good football knows nothing about him. Technically was Gerd Mueller one of the best players the world have ever seen. Franz Beckenbauer and Schwarzenbeck played many times after the training the game 2 against 1 with small goals. It was Gerd Mueller against Beckenbauer + Schwarzenbeck. And the result was the most times the same. Mueller won. Beckenbauer talked about this games on tv and said that he and Katsche was chanceless. Mueller was so incredible fast and skilled on the ball. You can see the brilliance from Mueller in the game against Athletico Madrid. The first goal was already fantastic, but the second goal was one of the best goals that I have ever seen. Here is the link of this short clip. - - - Part 3: Paul Breitner, world champion and football expert said in an extended tv interview the following about Gerd Mueller: "Gerd Mueller would have today the value of Messi plus Ronaldo and three solid first league players. The super rich clubs would pay for Gerd Mueller €300M ... and they would even not move an eyelash! He would make today more goals as in his time. Mueller had his time in every game to handle a three-man-to-one-man marking' and it was still not enough to stop him from scoring goals. Todays zone defense systems would be for Gerd Mueller the paradise. Muellers prime was from 1971-1973 in which he played 39 games and scored 64 times. My guess is that he would score today in the English Premier league around 40 goals and this in nearly every season and it would not matter what tricks the managers find to stop him. They would not stop him. He was a phantom. Whoever say that he was not a good footballer havent seen him playing. In my opinion is Gerd Mueller in a league with Pele, Messi, Ronaldo, maybe even a little above them. He was a fantastic team player, he passed balls over 40 metersperfect, when he initialized a attack then was it always with a surprising ball to a team mate. He was reading thegame as I have never ever seen it in my live, and I have seen Maradona, Messi etc. In my opinion is Gerd Muellera year-one-thousand-player and unique in the history of football. The world will never see a genius like him again!
Yes, he was a skinny transgender Eskimo with dark skin and blond hair and tried to sell in Sao Paulo Electric blanket to the locals that they dont freeze in the cold BraZilian winters.
First of all, training grounds story is of absolute zero value. Nobody cares if Mueller would win 1v10 everyday in training. All that matters is what happens on the competitive games. While I disagree with FrankBKK that Mueller was 'Technically was Gerd Mueller one of the best players the world have ever seen' I think his overall technique is severely underrated. The myth that he's a tap-in machine is easily enough debunked by watching his goal-scoring highlights. I particularly like his touch-turn-shoot move. It's an under appreciated technique that is so useful for strikers in the box. However, one would have to watch his full games to appreciate his overall abilities and all-round contribution. I've watch full games of him playing for W. Germany and a couple for Bayern (more for W. Germany though) and his all-round game was actually very good. He was not some lazy no.9 just waiting to beat the offside trap or get on the end of crosses. He was constantly moving, and one can see on many occasions him combining with his teammates doing 1-2s or him laying the ball off to his teammates. That's proper no.9 buildup player, but it's not as appreciated as say a midfield buildup play. I experienced the same thing with Law. When I just read about him, I thought he was just good for scoring goals. When I actually watched him, I saw that he had a very well-rounded game. He was very involved in buildups, and was an accomplished dribbler himself. The opposite is true for someone like Duncan Edwards. You read about him, and you think he's basically Pirlo + Rijkaard + Lampard. Apparently, he could have become the Pele of central midfield. However, when you watch him play, he wasn't even as good as Rijkaard, let alone able to pass like Pirlo (above average passing at best) nor score like Lampard. It is possible that I simply didn't find the right game footage of him.
I recently had a look at Müller's involvement in two classic games for Bayern, against Mönchengladbach in December 1973 (Bundesliga) and against Köln in the 1971 German Cup final: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=758710257596349 https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=758716394262402