Bayern Munich and Germany legend Gerd Muller has passed away at the age of 75.
One of the best strikers in history, Muller scored 68 goals in 62 appearances for West Germany, including the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup Final against the Netherlands.
He also scored 547 goals in 594 official matches in 15 years with the Bundesliga giants Bayern.
“Today is a sad, black day for FC Bayern and all its fans,” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said.
“Gerd Muller was the greatest striker of all time – and a wonderful person and figure in world football. We are united in deep sorrow with his wife O’Shea and his family.
“Without Gerd Muller, Bayern would not be the club we all love today. His name and his memory will live on forever.”
“One of the greatest legends in history”
Müller, the two-time German Footballer of the Year, won the Golden Boot for scoring 10 goals in the 1970 World Cup and also won the Golden Ball that year.
He helped West Germany win the European Championship two years later, scoring twice in a 3-0 victory over the Soviet Union in the final.
“The news of the death of Gerd Muller deeply saddens us,” Bayern chief executive Oliver Kahn said.
“He is one of the greatest legends in the history of Bayern Munich, his achievements are unparalleled to this day and will forever remain a part of the great history of Bayern and all German football.
“As a player and person, Gerd Müller represents FC Bayern Munich and its evolution into one of the biggest clubs in the world is unparalleled. Gerd will remain in our hearts forever.”
Record holder for decades
During his 15 years at Bayern Munich, Muller was the Bundesliga’s top scorer seven times. He also holds the record for most goals in a calendar year having scored 85 in 1972 until Lionel Messi surpassed his goal total in 2012.
His 40 goals in the Bundesliga season – he scored in 1971-72 – held out for 49 years before Robert Lewandowski broke it in May.
In total, Muller helped Bayern win four Bundesliga titles, the DFB Cup, three European Cups, the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
In 2015, the club announced that he had Alzheimer’s disease.
“Muhammad Ali from the penalty area”
Born on November 3, 1945, Muller joined Bayern Munich in 1964. Because of his short stature and stocky physique, the club’s first coach, Zlatko Kajkowski, nicknamed him the “short, fat Muller”.
However, Muller soon gained fame for being a clinical striker and his goals helped Bayern win the league title four times between 1969 and 1974.
His prowess in the penalty area quickly made him one of the most feared strikers at club and international level, with another great Bayern Munich player – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – Muller described in 2015 as “the best of all time, Muhammad Ali in the penalty area.”
Muller retired from international football shortly after helping West Germany win the World Cup in 1974, aged just 28, but continued to enjoy success at Bayern before leaving in 1979 to join the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
He played three seasons in the United States before announcing his retirement in 1982.
salute to Mueller
Goal machine for club and team – Muller’s great numbers
- With 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga matches, he is the record goalscorer in Bundesliga history.
- He scored 40 goals in 1971-1972 – a Bundesliga record broken last season by Robert Lewandowski (41).
- In the 1969-70 season, he scored in 16 consecutive Bundesliga matches, a mark that remains unbroken.
- He was the Bundesliga’s top scorer in seven seasons – also a record.
- Bomber der Nation (“The Bomber of the Nation”) is also the best scorer in German Cup history – he scored more (78 goals) than played (62).
- Only Miroslav Klose scored more goals for the German national team (71) than Müller (68). However, Klose has also played more than twice as many international matches (137) as Müller (62).
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