Long before Robert Lewandowski or Harry Kane, Bayern could count on an incredible goal machine named Gerd Müller. We’re talking about a football legend who is often forgotten in discussions about the best strikers in history. Born in Bavaria, the center forward joined Bayern at the age of 18, in 1964, when the club was still in D2, but where two young stars were playing, goalkeeper Sepp Maier and midfielder Franz Beckenbauer. With these incredible talents (and then the reinforcement of Karl-Heinz Rummenigge), Bayern becomes the biggest club in Germany.
In front of opposing goals, Gerd Müller stacked up XXL seasons with 40, 50 and even 66 goals (in 1972-1973). In addition to German championship titles in spades, the striker contributed to three European Cup titles in 1974, 1975 and 1976 (against AS Saint-Etienne). “Der Bomber” (the bomber) was already crowned Ballon d’Or in 1970 after finishing top scorer in the 1970 World Cup won by Pelé’s Brazil (elected best player of the tournament but ineligible for the Ballon d’Or).
Gerd Müller, Beckenbauer’s number 1
Two years later, Gerd Müller offered the Mannschaft Euro 1972 with a double in the final against the Soviet Union (3-0). Above all, Germany was then crowned world champion in 1974 against the Netherlands of Johan Cruyff (2-0) with a winning goal signed by him. He has an incredible record of 68 goals in 62 caps!
“Kaizer” Beckenbauer, who is a true football legend, has never stopped praising his former teammate: he once called him a “greatest scorer in history”
and of “most important player in the history of Bayern Munich” in addition to being the top scorer (570 goals). Just that. Gerd Müller was an incredible goal chaser, comparable to Erling Haaland today, and Gary Lineker describes him as “the ultimate surface fox”. The Bavarian died on August 15, 2021 at the age of 75 from Alzheimer’s disease. He would have celebrated his 81st birthday on November 3.
