Germany’s boy next door

THOMAS MUELLER could leave Brazil with another Golden Boot, but all the Bavarian boy-next-door really cares about is winning tonight’s final to take the World Cup home to Germany. The 24-year-old has come a long way since Diego Maradona famously mistook him for a ball boy after his Germany debut in a 0-1 defeat to Argentina in Munich in 2010.

Mueller had the last laugh in Cape Town four months later when Germany romped to a 4-0 win over Maradona’s Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals.

Germany finished third at the last World Cup and Mueller left South Africa with both the Golden Boot and the best young player award.
Four years on, Maradona dubbed Mueller ‘El Flaco’ — the Skinny One —after the German’s hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Portugal in the opening group match. But unlike the controversial Maradona, Mueller is not a complicated character. The lanky Jack-the-lad is the joker in Germany’s pack who visits his parents once a month and married to his sweetheart. He looks like he would be just as comfortable serving frothy mugs of beer in his upper Bavarian home village as scoring goals for either Bayern Munich or Germany.
Fancy cars are not his thing.

Instead he owns 30 horses as wife, Lisa, whom he met when he was 17 and married aged 20, is a dressage rider and the couple’s dogs are called Micky and Murmel.

Born in September 1989, just two months before the Berlin Wall came down, Mueller rose through Bayern’s youth teams and is now one of their top earners. Having spent the season on the wing, head coach Joachim Loew switched him to striker for Germany’s first game and he promptly netted a hat-trick against Portugal. He followed it up with the winner against the USA in the final group match, then reverted to the wing and converted a Toni Kroos corner which started the rout in the semi-final hammering of hosts Brazil.

So is he a striker or a midfielder?
“No idea,” was his simple reply.

It does not really matter to him, just like the prospect of leaving Brazil with another Golden Boot after claiming five goals and three assists, his exact same tally from four years ago.

“It’s only relevant in that the more goals I score for Germany, the higher our chance of winning the title,” he said.
Mueller’s strength is his running.

In his 562 World Cup minutes, he has covered 68,8 kilometres — the most in the German squad — but off the field, he is regarded as the squad’s clown.

Bastian Schweinsteiger gave a telling answer when asked about facing Bayern teammate and Brazil defender Dante before the semifinal thrashing.

“Dante knows exactly how we play — except for Thomas Mueller, that’s something we never know ourselves!” he joked.
But Mueller becomes deadly serious when asked how tonight’s final will compare to his three Champions League final appearances with Bayern.

“A World Cup final is the biggest game that a footballer can experience,” he said.
“It comes only every four years and stands head and shoulders over a Champions League final. Just as large is the anticipation before it.” — SAPA/AFP.