Erik ten Hag regrets the death of Gerd Müller at the age of 75. The Ajax trainer got to experience the German legend, who has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for some time, up close when he trained the second team of Bayern Munich between 2013 and 2015. “It was a phenomenon, this news always hits hard,” Ten Hag responded on Sunday at the NOS.
“You have been waiting for such a message for a long time, but when it comes, it still falls raw on your roof.” Müller was active as a forward from 1963 to 1981 and was known as of the Bomber. He is Bayern’s all-time top scorer with 566 goals in 607 official matches, where he was still a regular. The former striker set an unprecedented average for the former West Germany by scoring 68 times in 62 international matches. It earned him the European Championship title in 1972 and World Cup win in 1974.
“He meant a lot to Bayern Munich. The number of goals he has scored is phenomenal, an unbelievable quality,” emphasizes Ten Hag. For example, Müller became champion of Germany four times and won the national cup four times. By winning the European Cup 1 three times in a row from 1974, Müller finally established the name in world top football with Bayern. Most impressive were his 40 goals in the 1971/72 season, a record in Germany for decades.
In May, Robert Lewandowski took over Müller’s record, scoring 41 goals in the 2020/21 season. Müller scored 85 goals in the 1972 calendar year. The German also set a record for a long time, until Lionel Messi managed to score 91 goals in 2012. Conversely, Bayern has also meant a lot to Müller, Ten Hag knows. “The club relieved his wife, he got a private driver and they went to play tennis with him. So that he stayed among the people and to slow down the process as much as possible. Bayern has done that class.”
Ten Hag praises Müller not only for his football qualities, but also as a person. “Absolutely a phenomenon, as a person he remained so normal. That was the beauty, there was no arrogance of any kind. A great personality.”