Club Career
Müller
returned from his post-World Cup break to sign another contract
extension, this time extending his stay at Bayern until 2015. As with all of Bayern's World Cup participants, he missed much of pre-season,and
his first match back was the Supercup against Schalke 04 on 7 August.
He was named in the starting 11, and scored the opening goal in a 2–0
win. Two weeks later he scored the opening goal of Bayern's league season in a 2–1 home win against VfL Wolfsburg. Müller played in every match of the first half of the season, usually as a starter, but as the team struggled for results, Müller was unable to match the previous season's goalscoring exploits, being dropped to the bench,
and even receiving a telling off from Louis van Gaal after missing an
easy chance in a 2–0 defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in August.
He was philosophical about this dip in form, though, and after eight
league games without a goal, he scored in a 4–1 win against Eintracht
Frankfurt on 27 November; He followed that by scoring in consecutive league and cup wins against VfB Stuttgart three weeks later.These goals took his tally to eight goals in all competitions and included a spectacular goal to open the scoring in a 2–0 Champions League victory against Roma on 15 September. As his team was on its winter break, Müller was left to reflect on "an almost unbelievable first year as a pro".Müller
began the second half of the season in good form, but was involved in
an altercation with team-mate Arjen Robben, who was angered when Müller
showed his displeasure at a poor free-kick Robben took during a 3–1 win
at Werder Bremen.
Müller again played in every game of the season and scored 19 goals (12
in the league), but the season was less successful for Bayern, as they
finished third in the league,and were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in the semi-finals by Schalke 04
and in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League by Internazionale;
Bayern had won 1–0 in the San Siro, and Müller scored 31 minutes into
the second leg to make it 3–1 on aggregate, but Inter levelled the score
at 3–3 in the 88th minute, to go through on the away goals rule. Müller's mentor, Van Gaal was increasingly criticised for inflexibility in tactical, transfer and selection policy, and ultimately lost his job, being replaced with Jupp Heynckes.
International Career
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 Tyrol,
Müller only received superficial injuries and made the final cut for
the tournament when the squad was reduced to 23 players. He was
allocated the number 13, normally worn by injured captain Michael Ballack, and previously worn by Müller's namesake Gerd.
He earned his second international cap in the final warm-up match
before the World Cup when he came on as a half-time substitute for Piotr
Trochowski in a 3–1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. He started the
first game of Germany's World Cup campaign and scored the third goal –
his first internationally – in a 4–0 win over Australia,
winning Germany's goal of the month award in the process. He played in
all Germany's group games, as they finished top of Group D; he scored
twice and assisted once in the 4–1 victory over England in the round of
16.
In the third minute of Germany's 4–0 quarter final win against
Argentina, he opened the scoring with his fourth tournament goal.
However, he picked up his second booking of the tournament in the first
half, for a handball
and was suspended for the semi-final defeat against Spain. Müller said
that he felt far more nervous during the Spain game than any he was able
to play.
He returned to the team for the third-place playoff against Uruguay and
scored the first goal, his fifth of the tournament, as Germany won 3–2
to take the bronze medals.
The team's success was a culmination of a series of changes made after
the national team's failure at Euro 2000. The Germans emphasized a more
open, attack-minded style not previously associated with Germany, and
included prominent young players, including Müller, Sami Khedira and
Mesut Özil.
With
five goals Müller ended as joint top goalscorer of the tournament. He
earned the Golden Boot with these goals and his three assists.
He also won the Best Young Player Award over fellow nominees André Ayew
of Ghana and Giovani dos Santos of Mexico. For both awards, he
succeeded a German team-mate, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski,
respectively, from 2006. In October 2010, he was named on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or award along with four of his Germany team-mates. Reflecting on his World Cup success, Müller said "I basically got lucky, I hit form at just the right time".Playing Style
Müller's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder,
a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. As he came
through the youth system, he was seen primarily as a midfielder,
but since breaking into the first-team he has been used in more forward
roles. Both Bayern Munich and the Germany national team usually play a
4–2–3–1 formation, and Müller is most often part of the three attacking
midfielders behind the central striker. He can play in any of the
attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the center for Bayern
Munich, and on the right for Germany. He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion.
Müller has been praised for his maturity, pace, technique, awareness and positioning. He has been particularly noted for his composure; Germany manager Joachim Löw said he is "impervious to pressure" and former Bayern manager Louis van Gaal said he has tremendous mental strength. A consistent scorer and creator of goals,
he describes himself as a player who can find gaps in the opposition
defence but not particularly good at dribbling or one-on-ones.
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