OLANREWAJU IBITOYE
Legendary German and Bayern Munich prolific goal scorer, Gerd Muller dies at 75.
Der Bomber Der Nation (The Bomber of the Nation) as he was popularly called during his days scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany.
He was born in Nördlingen and started his career with 1861 Nördlingen where he scored 51 goals in 31 appearances before he joined Bayern in the summer of 1964.
He scored an impressive 566 goals in 607 competitive appearances for Bayern and currently holds the record for most goals scored in the Bundesliga with 365 goals and also top scorer seven times in his fifteen seasons with Bayern Munich.
His single-season goals of 40 was recently broken by Robert Lewandowski last season and his German top scorer record for the National team was broken in 2014 by Miroslav Klose; a record which stood for 40 years.
In 2015, Bayern announced Muller had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease – a disease that destroys the memory and degeneration of cells which eventually destroys the mental function of a person. He is survived by wife, Uschi and daughter, Nicole.
He joined Bayern in 1964 and won three European Cups,Intercontinental Cup and a European Cup Winners’ Cup. He also won four Bundesliga titles and four German Cup and won theBallon d’Or in 1970.
He also won the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup, scoring the winning goal in the final in Munich against the Netherlands with West Germany.
President Herbert Hainer: “Today is a sad, dark day for FC Bayern and all its fans. Gerd Müller was the greatest striker there’s ever been, and a fine person and character of world football. We’re all united in deep mourning with his wife Uschi as well as his family. FC Bayern wouldn’t be the club we all love today without Gerd Müller. His name and memory will live on forever.”
A statement from Bayern Munich on read: “Today the world of FC Bayern stands still. The German record champions and its entire fan base mourn Gerd Muller who died early Sunday morning at the age of 75.”
CEO Oliver Kahn also added: “The news of Gerd Müller’s death deeply saddens us all. He’s one of the greatest legends in the history of FC Bayern, his achievements are unrivalled to this day and will forever be a part of the great history of FC Bayern and all of German football.
As a player and a person, Gerd Müller stands for FC Bayern and its development into one of the biggest clubs in the world like no other. Gerd will forever be in our hearts.”