Thomas Müller life and biography

Thomas Müller (born 13 September 1989) is a German international footballer who plays for Bayern Munich.

Müller plays as an attacking midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as a attacking midfielder, second striker, or on either wing.

In his first season as a professional, this attacking-third all-rounder has been a sensation. Quick, incisive, a fine crosser of the ball and cool in front of goal, his rapid development owes much to Bayern boss Louis van Gaal, a coach always ready to take a chance on youth.

Muller's profile has risen during his club's run in this season's Champions League and he earned a national team call-up as a result, making his debut in the friendly against Argentina back in March.

He is a model professional and his down-to-earth attitude has won him many friends. One slight drawback must be that he still needs to fully develop physically, but he is not worrying about such minor criticisms as rides on the crest of a wave. "Twelve months ago I was wondering if I could stake a claim to play for Bayern in the Bundesliga," says Muller, who was recently married to his long-time girlfriend Lisa. "Now I'm in the national team and it's like a dream. It cannot get any better."

Müller played as a youth for TSV Pähl, before joining Bayern Munich in 2000, aged 10. He progressed through the Bayern Munich Junior Team, and was part of the team that finished runner-up in the Under-19 Bundesliga in 2007. He made his debut for the reserve team in March 2008, in a Regionalliga match against SpVgg Unterhaching in which he scored. He made two more Regionalliga appearances in the 2007–08 season, while continuing to play for the under-19 team.

The following season, Bayern's second string qualified for the newly-formed 3. Liga, and Müller established himself as a key player – playing in 32 out of 38 games and scoring 15 times, making him the league's fifth top scorer. He also became involved in the first-team, appearing in pre-season friendlies, and making his full debut on 15 August 2008 in a Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV. He made three more Bundesliga appearances that season, and made his Champions League debut on 10 March 2009, being substituted on in the 72nd minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in a 7–1 win over Sporting CP. He scored Bayern's last goal as they won the tie 12–1 on aggregate.

In February 2009, Müller signed his first contract for the senior team, effective from the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mate Holger Badstuber. Since the beginning of that season, and the appointment of Louis van Gaal as coach, both players have been regular fixtures in the Bayern first team. In the first few matches Müller was a regular substitute, and on 12 September 2009, he was brought on against Borussia Dortmund and scored two goals in a 5–1 victory. Three days later, he scored another brace in a UEFA Champions League clash against Maccabi Haifa, and he rounded off September by being named the Bundesliga player of the month and earning praise from his namesake, legendary former Bayern and Germany striker Gerd Müller. Since the Haifa match, Müller has been in the starting eleven for almost every game, only missing one match – a Champions League game against Girondins de Bordeaux, for which he was suspended, having been sent off in an earlier match against the same team.

On 4 February 2010, Bayern Munich announced that Müller had signed a new contract that would keep him at the club until 2013.During the second half of the season, Müller has continued to be a regular first-team starter, usually playing in a central striking role due to the availability of wide players Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. In April 2010, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 win against title rivals Schalke 04, and in the penultimate league game of the season, he scored the first hat-trick of his career, in a 3–1 win over VfL Bochum which effectively secured the German title for Bayern. This was confirmed a week later with a 3–1 win at Hertha Berlin, a match which Müller started, meaning he had played in all 34 Bundesliga games of the season, starting 29 of those and recording 13 goals and 11 assists. Bayern and Müller were back in Berlin the following week, to face Werder Bremen in the final of the DFB-Pokal. Müller started the game, which Bayern won 4–0, to complete the domestic double. Müller had scored four goals and made two assists during the competition, which made him its leading scorer for the season. Bayern's season ended at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, as they pursued a first treble, facing Internazionale in the Champions League Final. It was not to be, however, as they lost 2–0, with goals from Diego Milito. Müller was in the starting line-up, and had a key chance just after half-time, with Bayern 1–0 down, but his shot was saved by Júlio César. Müller ended his first season as a first-team player having played 52 games and scored 19 goals in all competitions. In a poll conducted by the sports magazine Kicker, he was voted by his fellow professionals as the top rising star of the 2009–10 season.

International career

In August 2009 Müller was called up to the Germany under-21 team for the first time, making his debut in a 3–1 friendly defeat against Turkey. He has so far earned six caps for the under-21s, scoring one goal, the eighth in an 11–0 win over San Marino.

In October of the same year, Müller's regular appearances for Bayern's first team caused German national team coach Joachim Löw to publicly consider him for a call-up, and the following month, he was named in the squad for a friendly against Côte d'Ivoire, but a prior fixture was cancelled due to the death of national team goalkeeper Robert Enke, and with the under-21 team facing crucial qualifiers for the 2011 European Championship it was felt by Löw and under-21 coach Rainer Adrion that Müller was needed at that level, and he was called back into the under-21 He was back in the senior squad for its next get-together, a training session in Sindelfingen in January 2010, and was named in the squad for the following match, a friendly against Argentina in March. He made his debut in this game, being named in the starting eleven for the match at the Allianz Arena, his home stadium. He was substituted in the 66th minute, replaced by fellow debutant Toni Kroos as Germany lost 1–0. On 6 May, Müller was named in Germany's provisional 27-man squad for the 2010 World Cup, along with seven other Bayern Munich players. Despite suffering a scare when he fell off his bicycle at the team's training camp in South Tirol, Müller only suffered superficial injuries, and made the final cut for the tournament when the squad was reduced to 23 players on 1 June. He has been allocated the number 13,normally worn by injured captain Michael Ballack, and previously worn by Müller's namesake Gerd. He earned his second cap in the final warm-up match before the World Cup, coming on as a half-time substitute for Piotr Trochowski in a 3–1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 13 June 2010, he scored his first international goal for Germany on his World Cup debut against Australia. He scored the third goal for Germany.

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