RIP Gerd Muller
- Thread starter Bama fan
- Start date
In '78 if I recall correctly at about 32, Gerd came to play in the US for the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers in the old NASL. As a FTL resident, I got to see him play every home game for several years. At that age he was still an amazing goal scorer. One of the most incredible goals I ever saw was when he went down on all 4s to head a ball into the back of the net from a corner kick. I had season tickets in the west end zone because I always felt that was the best vantage point to watch a soccer game. Muller was no more than 25-30 feet fom me when he scored that goal.
While he livid here he bought a German influenced restaurant named The Ambrey and continued to own it for a number of years after he retired and had moved back to Germany.
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2014
- Messages
- 2,603
- Reaction Score
- 11,522
I lived in Germany during his heyday. He was the epitome of what a striker is supposed to be. Bayern had half the starters on the National team when they won the World Cup in 1974, including Kaiser Franz himself. Try to imagine that the best player in the world was a Defender!
I watched him play in person several times, and on German television. Lived in Germany 70 to 74. A great player, also a contemporary of Franz Beckenbauer.
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2015
- Messages
- 422
- Reaction Score
- 1,794
Gerd Muller was the reason I attended my first Cosmos game. Film clips of him driving like a locomotive towards the goal and then scoring with his quick short stroke filled some of our training session meetings years before when I was in college. Not Pele, but he was the definition of power on the field.
Franz Beckenbauer and Muller were teammates on Bayern Munich in the glory years, and he has stated that when he guarded Muller going for a goal in practice, that he usually (Beckenbauer) had no chance. This comes from one the greatest all around players to ever play the game. It’s quite a compliment to Muller.