Resigning as a national player is not an issue for Thomas Müller after the messed up World Cup. He puts his DFB future in Hansi Flick’s hands. At the moment it’s more about his Bayern position.
Thomas Müller sat in an upholstered armchair in the Elite room of the Bayern team hotel and spoke for 30 minutes about the World Cup, the national team, FC Bayern and his New Year’s wishes: but he did not announce any breaking news.
Not far from the Khalifa Stadium, where the German World Cup disaster began with him in the starting XI in a 2-1 draw against Japan at the end of November, the 2014 world champion did not announce his retirement after 121 international matches. Rather, the 33-year-old attacker placed his DFB future entirely in the hands of national coach Hansi Flick.
“As long as I’m a professional footballer, I’ll always be available in the national team if I’m needed,” said Müller at his club’s training camp in Doha: “Of course, the national coach has to decide when, if and how.” There could be an initial, but possibly not yet final, answer from Flick in March, when the national coach, who was confirmed in office despite being out of the preliminary round by the DFB, announces his squad for the first international matches in 2023. The date, location and opponents of the friendlies have not yet been determined.
He didn’t want to “artificially” stop his DFB career, emphasized Müller. “If I don’t get nominated even though I would like to, I can handle that.” After the useless 4: 2 of the DFB-Elf in the last World Cup group game against Costa Rica, Müller gave a supposed farewell speech to the German fans live on television. “I was very emotional after the game,” he said in retrospect.
Müller on the home EM 2024?
Back in the Al Bayt Stadium, after the shower, he announced that he would first consult his wife Lisa and Flick. Result of these talks: Müller is not finished with the national team. Even the home European Championship in a year and a half shone on the horizon. A tournament in your own country – that would be a novelty even for Müller: “If I deliver a top performance in spring 2024 – why not?” said Müller at the World Cup accident site in Qatar.
Deliver top performance! That’s the motivation, that’s the claim that encourages Müller. And that after the first half of the season, which not only ended with a lousy World Cup for him, but even before that he didn’t run smoothly in the Bayern jersey. Health problems slowed down the frequent player. Bayern put in an impressive winning streak in the fall largely without him.
That’s why Müller doesn’t think about future international matches at the Bayern winter camp, but fights for status and position in the Munich champion team on the training ground. “I’m coming from a phase where I’ve been injured longer than most of my career. We have a great team here, big goals, so my focus now is to be on the pitch, to score goals, to set up goals, to close games to win.” Müller is aiming for his third treble with Bayern alongside 2013 and 2020.
What is Müller’s position at Bayern?
The question before the season continues is also in Munich: where to go with Müller? “Müller always plays” – this old Louis van Gaal saying no longer applies. Müller has to fight for his regular place. The direct competitors are youngster Jamal Musiala (19) in the tenth position and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (33), who was able to play his way into the first eleven as a center forward with goals.
In the heavily manned Munich offensive, coach Julian Nagelsmann plans with Müller “in one of the two positions up front, ten or point,” as he said in Doha. “Basically, Thomas can play several positions, but the more central ones suit him the most. He’s very creative when it comes to staging players.” Müller agreed with his coach on Monday. “I feel like I’m in good hands in the middle. My strengths are in the half-space, in the box.”
He also draws motivation from the World Cup exit, which “hurt extremely”. “You have to deal with it. And the most important thing is that you turn this frustration and pain into energy.” Müller’s energy level is still very high. You can see that in every training session in Doha, even if his back is a bit pinched.
After just 14 appearances in the Bundesliga, DFB Cup and Champions League, he has a modest three goals and six assists in his season record. Nevertheless, Nagelsmann says: “Thomas is an important player for Bayern, an important player for me. He has extraordinary abilities, especially when it comes to assists, which also includes one or the other unconventional action in the penalty area.”
Up front, however, Choupo-Moting “did it very well,” as Nagelsmann pointed out. And Musiala is playing “an outstanding season”, as the coach praised: “Jamal also played a very good World Cup with a very bad quota.” Müller played a bad tournament with very bad odds. What was 2022, Müller now wants to “check off”. In 2023 it should mill like it used to.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
