Gerd Müller is dead. This was confirmed by FC Bayern Munich on Sunday.
The Müller, who comes from Nördlingen in Swabian Bavaria, is considered to be one of the best goal scorers of all time. He shot Germany to the title at the 1974 World Cup with his final goal against the Netherlands. Two years earlier he had already played a decisive role in the German victory at the European Championship when he scored two goals in the final against the Soviet Union. In his 62 international matches, Müller scored 68 goals.
He won four German championships with FC Bayern Munich and won the DFB Cup four times. Internationally, he won the European Champion Clubs ‘Cup three times, once the European Cup Winners’ Cup and once the World Cup.
“Today is a sad, black day for FC Bayern and all of its fans,” said Bayern President Herbert Hainer in a statement: “Gerd Müller was the greatest striker there has ever been – and a fine person, a personality of World football. We are united in deep sadness with his wife Uschi and his family. Without Gerd Müller, FC Bayern would not be the club we all love today. His name and memory of him will live on forever. ” Oliver Kahn praised him as “one of the greatest legends in the history of FC Bayern.”
Gerd Müller and national coach Helmut Schön celebrate the victory in the 1974 World Cup final against the Netherlands in Munich.
(Photo: Karl Schnörrer / dpa)
Even decades after the end of his career, Müller holds the goal record in the Bundesliga. In his 427 games in the highest German class, he scored 365 goals. Robert Lewandowski (277) and Klaus Fischer (268) follow at a considerable distance. For a long time, Müller also held the record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season until Lewandowski surpassed him with 41 goals in the past season.
Müller spent the last years of his life suffering from dementia in a nursing home south of Munich. His wife Uschi said that picture– Newspaper on the occasion of his 75th birthday in November: “Gerd is sleeping towards the end.” She hopes that he “cannot think about his fate, about an illness that robs people of their last dignity”.