Club career

Bayern Munich

Born in Nördlingen, Germany, Müller began his football career at the TSV 1861 Nördlingen. Müller joined FC Bayern Munich in 1964 where he teamed up with future stars Franz Beckenbauer and Sepp Maier. The club, which would go on to become the most successful German club in history was then still in the Regionalliga Süd (Regional League South), which was one level below the Bundesliga at the time. After one season, Bayern Munich advanced to the Bundesliga and started a long string of successes. With his club, Müller amassed titles during the 60s and 70s: He won the German Championship four times, the DFB-Pokal four times, the European Champions' Cup three times, the Intercontinental Cup once, and the European Cup Winners' Cup once.

A supremely opportunistic goal-scorer, he also became German top scorer seven times and European top scorer twice. Müller 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, a record that is particularly impressive because unlike other top-flight national leagues, the Bundesliga only has 18 teams and therefore only 34 games per season. Müller averaged a goal per game or better in seven of his 14 seasons. He scored 68 goals in 62 German international games. He held the record for most goals scored in a calendar year, striking 85 goals in 1972, until his total was surpassed 40 years later by Lionel Messi.

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

After his career in the Bundesliga he went to the United States, where he joined the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League in 1979. He played three seasons with this team, scoring 38 goals, and once reaching, but losing, the league final in 1980. He was a 2nd-team NASL All Star in 1979.

International career

Müller scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany. He was Germany's all-time leading scorer for almost 40 years until he was surpassed by Miroslav Klose in 2014, though Klose required more caps to do so. Müller's international career started in 1966 and ended on 7 July 1974 with victory at the 1974 World Cup at his home stadium in Munich. He scored the winning goal for the 2-1 victory over Johan Cruyff's Netherlands in the final. His four goals in that tournament and his ten goals at the 1970 World Cup combined made him the all-time highest World Cup goalscorer at the time with 14 goal. His record stood until the 2006 tournament, coincidentally held in Germany, when it was broken by Brazilian striker Ronaldo, though he also required more matches than Müller to achieve his tally. Müller 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.

Life after football

After Müller ended his career in 1982, he fell into a slump 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 II. There is also a collection of apparel released by sporting giants Adidas under the Gerd Müller name. It is part of the adidas originals series. In July 2008, the Rieser Sportpark, in Nördlingen, where Müller had begun his career, was renamed the Gerd-Müller-Stadion in his honour.

In October 2015, it was announced that Müller is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Playing style

In his book, Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, author David Winner writes: "Müller was short, squat, awkward-looking and not notably fast; he never fitted the conventional idea of a great footballer, but he had lethal acceleration over short distances, a remarkable aerial game, and uncanny goalscoring instincts. His short legs gave him a strangely low center of gravity, so he could turn quickly and with perfect balance in spaces and at speeds that would cause other players to fall over. He also had a knack of scoring in unlikely situations."

The impression that Gerd Müller was not very fast may stem from his short appearance. He did not run very much, but this is rather typical of people with fast-twitch muscle fibers - they rely on short bursts of speed. Speed and agility were always Gerd Müller's greatest assets - and this enabled him to reach an extreme acceleration and be first to the ball. He also regularly soared higher than much taller defenders while jumping for the ball. His team mate Franz Beckenbauer has emphasized Müller's unusual speed: "His pace was incredible. In training I have played against him and I never had a chance."

Career statistics

Club career statistics

A goals tally in bold indicates that Müller was the competition's top scorer for that season.

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental			Other		Total		Notes
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Comp	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1963-64	TSV 1861 Nördlingen	Bezirksliga Schwaben	31	51	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	31	51
1964-65	Bayern Munich	Regionalliga Süd	26	33	—	—	—	—	—	8	8	34	41
1965-66		Bundesliga	33	15	6	1	—	—	—	—	—	39	16
1966-67			32	28	4	7	CWC	9	8	—	—	45	43
1967-68			34	19	4	4	CWC	8	7	—	—	46	30
1968-69			30	30	5	7	—	—	—	—	—	35	37
1969-70			33	38	3	4	EC	2	0	—	—	38	42
1970-71			32	22	7	10	ICFC	8	7	—	—	47	39
1971-72			34	40	6	5	CWC	8	5	—	—	48	50
1972-73			33	36	5	7	EC	6	12	5	12	49	67
1973-74			34	30	4	5	EC	10	8	—	—	48	43
1974-75			33	23	3	2	EC	7	5	—	—	43	30
1975-76			22	23	6	7	EC	7	5	—	—	34	35
1976-77			25	28	4	11	EC	8	9	—	—	37	48
1977-78			33	24	3	4	UEFA	6	4	—	—	42	32
1978-79			19	9	2	4	—	—	—	—	—	21	13
Total		Bundesliga	427	365
		Bayern total	453	398	62	78	—	79	70	13	20	607	566
German football total			484	449	62	78	—	79	70	13	20	638	617
1979	Fort Lauderdale Strikers	NASL	25	19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	19
1980			29	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	29	14
1981			17	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	17	5
Total			71	38	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	71	38
Career total			555	487	62	78	—	79	70	13	20	709	655

[ Source: Wikipedia ]