Thomas Muller might not be as crucial to Bayern Munich as he once was.
Indeed, he has featured only 12 times in the Bundesliga this season, making just nine starts.
Yet his next appearance, set to come against Bochum on Saturday, will see him overtake his namesake – the late, great Gerd Muller – for the record number of Bundesliga appearances for the club by an outfield player, with 428.
Ahead of breaking the record, he has started 371 of his 427 Bundesliga matches, tasting victory on 307 occasions and losing only 47 times. He has won 11 titles and has a 12th in his sights this year.
Since making his Bundesliga bow in 2008, Muller has played more times in the competition than any other player, while he has directly contributed to 296 goals (140 goals, 156 assists), 23 more than second-ranked Robert Lewandowski (238 goals, 35 assists).
Lewandowski and Muller formed a formidable duo at Bayern, though the latter has not always had an easy ride at the club.
To celebrate his impending achievement, Stats Perform takes a look at Muller's Bayern journey, one which has also included two Champions League triumphs.
Tipped for the top? Not so much
"Thomas Muller can't beat you with his close ball control. He can't beat you with his pace. And he can't beat you with his dribbling skills. He just beats you."
Those were the words of German sports journalist and author Uli Hesse when he described Muller in an article originally published in Eight By Eight magazine and then re-published by The Guardian.
Muller has never had the blinding pace of peak Cristiano Ronaldo; the imperious skill of Lionel Messi or the exquisite finishing prowess of Lewandowski. Perhaps that is why he is never really considered among the pantheon of modern-day greats?
But in fairness, that was never truly expected of him. Indeed, a year before he shot to stardom at the 2010 World Cup, Muller had made just five senior appearances, totalling 40 minutes, scoring once.
Yet in 2009, when it seemed as though Muller – not quite a number 10, not quite a striker – would be loaned out, Louis van Gaal installed him as a first-team regular. He featured in every Bundesliga game that season, scoring 13 times and providing six assists. "In my team, Muller always plays," said Van Gaal.
Muller carried that form into the World Cup, finishing the tournament as one of four top scorers with five goals as a young, exciting Germany side reached the semi-finals.
The 4-2-3-1 in which Muller had thrived at Bayern, where he was flanked by Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery, was in vogue in South Africa, and along with Mesut Ozil and Lukas Podolski, he excelled behind club-mate Miroslav Klose.
Muller played every league game in the following two seasons, scoring 19 times, laying on a further 18 goals and creating 118 chances. He earned the nickname "Raumdeuter" – "an interpreter of space".
Even still, Muller was not the star of that Bayern side. Those were on the flanks, in the form of Robben and Ribery, and then up front when Lewandowski joined, yet over the next three seasons he put up brilliant numbers, hitting 20+ combined goals and assists in each campaign through to 2015-16.
As part of that span, he helped Bayern to Champions League glory in 2013, beating Lewandowski and Dortmund in the final at Wembley.
Hard times hit
Pep Guardiola had certainly got the best out of Muller, who netted 20 Bundesliga goals in the Spaniard's final season in Munich. Yet under Carlo Ancelotti, he failed to spark, at least in front of goal.
Muller went 999 minutes without a Bundesliga goal and only scored five times in the top tier in Ancelotti's sole full season at Bayern (2016-17), underperforming his expected goals (xG) of 7.8. He finished the season with 12 league assists, however – a career-best at that stage.
If that hinted at what was to come from Muller Mk.II (more on that to come), there was no doubting "Raumdeuter's" shine had worn off slightly, with Thiago Alcantara often preferred in an advanced midfield role.
Muller defended Ancelotti when the Italian was dismissed in September 2017, though it was reported he was one of five senior players to demand a change in coach.
Jupp Heynckes took charge and Muller finished the campaign with 22 goal involvements, only two less than in the 2012-13 season in which Heynckes guided Bayern to the treble.
But matters did not improve in the 2018-19 season, in which Muller was deemed surplus to requirements by Germany coach Joachim Low and he struggled for his best form at club level under Niko Kovac.
Muller's time comes again
A second coming arrived in the pandemic-hit 2019-20 campaign; Kovac was sacked, Hansi Flick took over, and Muller was back at his best, relishing a second Champions League triumph, as Paris Saint-Germain were beaten in the final.
Yes, the goal tallies weren't as high as in his early 2010s peak, but in the three seasons between 2019-20 and 2021-22, Muller provided 57 assists in the league.
His accumulative expected assists (xA) stood at 38, suggesting he benefitted from the expert finishing of Lewandowski and Co., but he engineered 261 chances across 97 appearances (2.7 per game). Not bad.
The "Raumdeuter" was back. Whether playing behind Lewandowski, or on the right-hand side of Bayern's four-man attacking unit, he caused constant havoc, while in the 2020-21 season he also boasted his best shot conversion rate (21.6).
This season has not gone as smoothly as Muller would have hoped. Lewandowski's departure to Barcelona deprived him of his partner in crime, and Julian Nagelsmann has often gone with Jamal Musiala, Germany's next big hope, as a number 10.
Injuries haven't helped either and Muller endured a difficult campaign as Germany crashed out of the World Cup.
Will there be a third coming? Maybe not. Perhaps this is the beginning of the end. But ahead of his record-breaking appearance, there's no doubt "Raumdeuter" has to go down as one of Bayern's greatest.
Southgate envisages central role for 'brilliant' Foden at Euro 2024
Gareth Southgate believes Phil Foden's starting position is less important than the spaces he is allowed to attack, pledging to find a way of letting him operate centrally at Euro 2024.
Foden was included in England's 33-man preliminary squad on Tuesday, and he is expected to be among the first names on the teamsheet after enjoying a fine campaign.
Foden was named Premier League Player of the Season as he helped Manchester City win an unprecedented fourth straight title, scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists.
Only three players in the league bettered Foden's goal tally, while he also ranked seventh in the division for chances created (73) and fourth for possession won in the final third (35 times).
Foden scored two excellent goals as City clinched the title with a 3-1 final-day win over West Ham, drifting infield from the right to find space between the lines and in the penalty area.
While the presence of Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka has led many to conclude Foden will be stationed on the left in Germany, Southgate is aware of the need to grant him positional freedom.
"Phil has played off the right, off the left, the key is where he ends up, not his starting position," Southgate said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"He plays on the left with City, sometimes he stays wide, but he's allowed to drift, and it has always been the same with us. He's allowed to drift.
"Then there's where a player has to defend. Jude has played as a 10 all season, and sometimes he has defended on the left for Real Madrid.
"It's about where these players arrive and where you allow them to drift, that's the key. I think if you spoke to all of our players, we never pin them to a touchline, that's not how we work so there is that freedom."
Foden produced a series of talismanic displays for City in the run-in, scoring match-winning hat-tricks against Brentford and Aston Villa and masterminding a vital comeback against Manchester United with two goals in March.
The 23-year-old stepped up while players like Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland were sidelined through injury, and Southgate has been impressed by his ability to shoulder that responsibility.
"It's obvious the brilliant season Phil has had, how he stepped up in big games not only when big players have been out but when he's been playing alongside them as well," Southgate added.
"You want him in central areas as you do one or two others, so we have to find the best way of making that happen."
Shaw a 'long shot' for Euro 2024, says Southgate
Despite including him in his preliminary squad, Gareth Southgate says it is a "long shot" that Luke Shaw will be fit for Euro 2024.
Shaw has been sidelined since February with a muscle injury but is the only recognised left-back in Southgate’s 33-man squad as Ben Chilwell also misses out due to injury.
Joe Gomez is an option for the position after filling in for Liverpool at times this season, while Kieran Trippier has also played at left-back for England in the past.
However, Shaw has been the first-choice left-back for the last two major tournaments, and Southgate admits that he will give him every chance to be fit.
"[Luke Shaw's] up against it," said Southgate. "He's missed a lot of football.
"The fact that he has been our first choice in that position, we've probably given him a lot longer than we would have done.
"I’ve talked with him and the medical team, we’ve been liaising with Manchester United, I'm not sure what's realistic at this time. I have to say, he's a long shot."
Southgate may have other injury problems on his hands. Harry Kane missed the end of Bayern Munich’s season due to a back injury, while Harry Maguire has not played since April.
"The job here is to adapt to the hand of cards you're dealt with," Southgate added.
"The injuries are a very complex thing. Sometimes players have had to play more than they might have done. Some players have come back earlier than they might have done.
"There's definitely been a lot of matches in the calendar. But it's too easy to say it's just the [fault of a] winter World Cup. It's lots of different reasons."
Southgate will cut his squad down to 26 players after England face Iceland in their final pre-tournament friendly at Wembley Stadium on June 7.
Southgate: Henderson will be a miss to the England squad
Gareth Southgate says Jordan Henderson will "be a miss" after omitting the midfielder from his preliminary 33-man England squad for Euro 2024.
Henderson has 81 senior caps for England but saw his place fiercely debated after joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq last year from Liverpool.
The 33-year-old was booed by some England fans during a friendly win over Australia last October, having suggested his presence in Saudi Arabia could be a "positive" thing for LGBTQ+ rights in the country in a widely criticised interview with The Athletic.
In January, he secured a move to Ajax but has only made nine Eredivisie appearances as the former Dutch champions finished fifth.
Asked about Henderson’s absence, Southgate said: "[Jordan Henderson] will be a miss. He's an exceptional individual and a fantastic human being. He's been in that leadership role for a long time.
"We've got young players with a lot of caps. There's no reason why young players can't lead.
"The 33 isn’t quite a fair definition because we’re taking a longer squad with some younger players to look at. Hendo has given himself every chance.
"From the last camp, he missed five weeks through injury, and he hasn’t been able to get to that tempo since then. It’s a big call to make, the three players from last time, he, Ben [White] and Marcus [Rashford] all had excellent professionalism."
Marcus Rashford is another one of the names overlooked after a poor season for Manchester United.
He scored just seven goals in 33 Premier League games this campaign after netting 30 in all competitions for the Red Devils in 2022-23.
"These are of course difficult calls," Southgate added when asked about Rashford.
"You are talking about players that are very important players. With Marcus, in that area of the pitch, I feel that other players have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that."
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