The former Bayern Munich and Germany legendary striker, Gerd Muller ,passed away at the age of 75.
His former club, Bayern Munich, revealed the news on their official Twitter account, saying: “Today the world of FC Bayern stands still.
“The German record champions and his entire fan base mourn Gerd Muller, who died early Sunday morning at the age of 75.”
Bayern president Herbert Hainer told the club website: “Today is a sad, black day for FC Bayern and all of its fans.
“Gerd Muller was the greatest striker there has ever been – and a fine person, a personality in world football. We are united in deep sorrow with his wife Uschi and his family.
“Without Gerd Muller, FC Bayern would not be the club we all love today. His name and the memory of him will live on forever.”
Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn added: “The news of Gerd Muller’s death deeply saddens us all.
“He’s one of the greatest legends in the history of FC Bayern, his achievements are unrivalled to this day and will forever be a part of the great history of FC Bayern and all of German football.
“As a player and a person, Gerd Muller stands for FC Bayern and its development into one of the biggest clubs in the world like no other. Gerd will forever be in our hearts.”
The legendary German forward scored 68 goals in 62 appearances for West Germany, including the winning goal in the 1974 World Cup final against Holland. He also scored 547 goals in 594 competitive games during 15 years at Bundesliga giants Bayern.
Nicknamed “Der Bomber” for his ability to destroy countless defence. The prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing and undoubtedly one of the greatest goalscorers in the history of the football.
“Gerd Muller was the greatest striker there has ever been” Bayern president Herbert Hainer said.
In his 15 years at Bayern, Müller was the Bundesliga’s top scorer seven times, the German footballer of the year twice and the recipient of the Ballon d’Or once after scoring 10 goals at the 1970 world cup in Mexico. The Germans were eliminated by Italian powerhouse despite Muller scoring brace in Semi Final against Italy. They came third beating Uruguay for the third place.
In 1972, he won the UEFA European Championship and was the top goalscorer, scoring twice in a 3-0 win against the Soviet Union in the final. . Two years later, Muller won the World Cup with West Germany as a host nation, he scored four goals in the 1974 World Cup, including the winning goal against the Netherlands.
Gerd Muller with the bundesliga trophy.(credit: getty image)
Interesting stats about Gerd Muller
- His record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season – scored in 1971-72 – stood for 49 years before it was broken by Robert Lewandowski in May.
- He also held the record for the most goals in a calendar year after scoring 85 in 1972 until Lionel Messi surpassed his total in 2012.
- His record of 68 international goals for Germany stood for four decades, until Miroslav Klose surpassed it in 2014 (though Klose took 132 games to Müller’s 62).
- Müller held the all-time goal-scoring record in the World Cup with 14 goals for 32 years. This record stood for more than three decades until Ronaldo’s 15 goals between 1998 and 2006 for Brazil.
- Gerd Müller has scored more Bundesliga goals than any other player in the competition’s history. He scored 365 goals in 427 games as reported by @squakwa.
Is Gerd Muller the best striker in football history? or where will you rank him in greatest footballer of all time list?