Tag Archives: fulfilment

Tribute to Gerd Muller after Lionel Messi breaks his goalscoring record

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Our tribute to Gerd Muller, the 'complete centre forward' whose goalscoring record Messi has just surpassed

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UPDATED:

21:23 GMT, 9 December 2012

If Lionel Messi is the new Maradona then Gerd Muller was the German Jimmy Greaves.

Where Messi is the complete forward, able to play in any attacking position and create as well as finish moves, the man whose record for goals scored in a calendar year he is on the verge of breaking was a pure striker.

Like Greaves, Muller was the arch poacher but there was an added dimension to his game which built an astonishing career tally of goals which surpassed even the Spurs and England legend.

Scroll down for video of Muller in action

Clash of eras: Messi (top) has broken the record set by Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Gerd Muller set in 1972 (bottom)

Clash of eras: Messi (top) has broken the record set by Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Gerd Muller set in 1972 (bottom)

It also gave Muller the World Cup fulfilment and the showcases of glittering prizes which eluded our Jimmy.

The key to his extraordinary facility in the penalty box was hidden in the first nickname bestowed upon him, a rather less flattering one than the pseudonym Der Bomber by which he was to become feted.

When he first appeared as a teenager for his home-town club Nordingen the coach referred to him as ‘The Short Fat Muller’ and the description stuck with him until he was bought by Bayern Munich.

Muller admitted to feeling insulted at first but came to understand that his somewhat stunted, stocky build was to be the making of him. In addition to the slide-rule precision with which Greaves ‘rolled the ball over the goal-line,’ Muller could score ugly.

Man for the big occasion: Muller scores against Holland in the 1974 World Cup final as West Germany came from behind to win

Man for the big occasion: Muller scores against Holland in the 1974 World Cup final as West Germany came from behind to win

Final say: Muller celebrates scoring his second, West Germany's third, in the 1972 European Championship final with the Soviet Union in Brussels

Final say: Muller celebrates scoring his second, West Germany's third, in the 1972 European Championship final with the Soviet Union in Brussels

That low centre of gravity and short turning circle enabled him to twist and contort himself into scoring from the most awkward and unlikely positions. A whole generation of world-class defenders despaired at the way Muller could squeeze the ball into the net when they were convinced they had him closed down.

One such hooked effort dealt the killer blow to England in the 1970 World Cup quarter-final, after Sir Alf Ramsey’s unwise substitution of Bobby Charlton freed Franz Beckenbauer, Der Kaiser, to launch the West German fight back from two down and into extra time.

The impossibility of containing Muller shines out at us from the statistics. He scored at the astounding ratio of more than a goal a game for Germany… 68 in 62 international appearances. He amassed 365 goals in 422 Bundesliga matches for Bayern and netted 66 times for his club in 74 games in European competition.

Red all over: Muller in action for his club, Bayern Munich, in 1976

Red all over: Muller in action for his club, Bayern Munich, in 1976

Bavarian beast: Muller slots the ball through the legs of Hannover goalkeeper Horst Podlasly in a 1965 Bundesliga match which Bayern won 4-3

Bavarian beast: Muller slots the ball through the legs of Hannover goalkeeper Horst Podlasly in a 1965 Bundesliga match which Bayern won 4-3

Given that deadliest of weapons at centre-forward, it was hardly surprising that Bayern stock-piled three European Cups, four Bundesliga titles and four German cups in the Muller era.

Even so, it is said that during one key game when they were under pressure the Kaiser asked the Bomber if he could lend a hand with the defending, to which Muller replied: ‘When you all join me in the goal-scoring I’ll come back and help you out.’

And so said Greaves, on more than one occasion when chastised about his low work-rate.

There is no denying that Messi, with his magical skill, electric acceleration and darting versatility, is the superior footballer. Yet on the grandest stage of all Muller remains his master, at least for the moment.

It took 32 years – and Ronaldo the Brazilian phenomenon – to surpass Muller’s old record of 14 goals in World Cup Final tournaments. There were two hat-tricks in Mexico ’70 – against Peru and Bulgaria – and after knocking out England he scored twice against Italy, only for West Germany to lose that semi-final 4-3.

Rising high: Muller scores the third and final West Germany goal against Australia in the 1974 World Cup group stages

Rising high: Muller scores the third and final West Germany goal against Australia in the 1974 World Cup group stages

Time to celebrate: Muller (left) with teammate Paul Breitner after West Germany won the 1974 World Cup in Munich

Time to celebrate: Muller (left) with teammate Paul Breitner after West Germany won the 1974 World Cup in Munich

So the finest moment of all had to wait four years. When it came, it provided the perfect climax. Germany were the hosts in 1974 and Muller’s last goal for his country – in Munich – was the winner against Holland in the Final.

Messi has yet to deliver fully for Argentina in the World Cup, Perhaps his finest hour will come in Brazil 2014.

Greaves, who Muller most closely resembled, saw his Germany counterpart cement his legacy eight years after he was left out of the 1966 World Cup Final at Wembley….when he had to watch Geoff Hurst score his historic hat-trick.

But the parallel resumed after the Bomber retired. Like Greaves, Muller took heavily to drink to fill the void after football. Like Greaves, he eventually defeated those demons.

Euro star: Muller finds the net from an acute angle for Bayern Munich in the 1974 European Cup final replay against Atletico Madrid

Euro star: Muller finds the net from an acute angle for Bayern Munich in the 1974 European Cup final replay against Atletico Madrid

On the ball: Muller in all-white for Bayern in a 1973 Bundesliga game

On the ball: Muller in all-white for Bayern in a 1973 Bundesliga game

Beckenbauer was among the galaxy of Bayern team-mates who rallied round Muller in the depth of his crisis, persuading him to go into rehab and spending valuable time with him thereafter.

Unlike Spurs, Muller’s clubs were hugely supportive.

Nordingen re-named their stadium after him. Bayern, who have an admirable history of keeping their heroes involved after they hang up the boots, re-employed Muller as a coach.

He holds that position to this day….even though they all know that his genius for scoring goals is something that simply cannot be taught.

No more than any youngster can be told to go out and play like Messi.

Muller's goals at the World Cup

Tribute to Muller's ability

London 2012 Olympics: Bradley Wiggins says Sir Wiggo not right

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Sir Wiggo doesn't sound right, I will always be just Brad! Cycling star stays humble

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UPDATED:

22:54 GMT, 1 August 2012

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You might have expected Bradley Wiggins, with a seventh Olympic medal hanging round his neck, to finally settle into the moment.

As has become his wont, however, in a career which glitters ever more brightly with every additional triumph, he immediately looked to the future.

‘Now I have to go to Rio and go for five,’ said Wiggins, a reference to the number of gold medals won by Sir Steve Redgrave, of which Britain’s road time trial Olympic champion is now just one shy. Normality rules with Wiggins. He is a man of the people for the people, but possessed with a voracious appetite for sporting success.

Glory boy: Bradley Wiggins (centre) has been touted for a knighthood

Glory boy: Bradley Wiggins (centre) has been touted for a knighthood

Accolades are nice, but self-
fulfilment is better. It is why he is nonplussed about a likely
knighthood and why he jumped off the staged throne for the medal winners
in full view of a ticketed gallery inside the grounds of Hampton Court,
got back on his bike and rode out into the street to salute the general
public who had cheered him to victory. And it is why he will finally
allow himself to celebrate his historic Tour de France triumph 11 days
after standing atop the podium in Paris.

Wiggins added: ‘How does Sir Wiggo
sound It doesn’t quite sound right, does it It is what it is. As much
as it would be an honour to receive something like that, I don’t think I
would ever use it. I’d just put it in the drawer. I’ll always just be
Brad. At the end there I wanted to go and see my wife and also all of
the people who had come to stand there on the roadside to shout
throughout the whole race.

‘We all know about Olympic ticketing.
The great thing about cycling is that everyone can come and watch it.
Normally in Europe it’s very accessible whereas here you’ve got to be
one of the chosen few to get in. It’s a bit of a prawn sandwich fest.

‘It was nice to go back out of the
gates to see all of the public outside to show that I appreciated
everything they did for that whole hour. Ultimately all the real fans
are out there and it’s a shame that they couldn’t see the medal
ceremony, so it was nice to go back out and roll up and down just for
them.

Chief: Dave Brailsford (right) with cyclist Chris Froome

Chief: Dave Brailsford (right) with cyclist Chris Froome

‘You’d have to be deaf not to hear the
incredible noise they made. I’m never going to experience anything like
that ever again in my sporting career. That’s it now — topped off
there. It was phenomenal.

‘To be mentioned in the same breath as
people like Steve Redgrave and Chris Hoy is an honour but ultimately
it’s all about gold medals once you’ve been an Olympic champion. You
don’t really talk about the others. There was only one colour that
mattered today.

‘But I am really proud of my
versatility. I’ve got a medal now in the madison, the team pursuit,
individual pursuit and the road time trial. It’s nice to be good at
everything. I don’t know how I cope with what comes next but vodka-tonic
helps. I’ll have a few of them tonight. You can’t train or plan for
what comes next. You just deal with it as you go along, which is why
people end up in the Priory, I guess, or as alcoholics.’

Delight: Wiggins celebrates his victory

Delight: Wiggins celebrates his victory

Bronze medallist Chris Froome was
equally shocked by the British support on the 27.3-mile circuit into
suburban Surrey. He said: ‘It was very different from (a stage of the
Tour), really something special. The roads were lined with people not
just cheering but screaming our names. It leaves me with goosebumps just
thinking about it.’

Earlier there had been tears in the
women’s event, which was won by American mum Kristin Armstrong just 10
days shy of her 39th birthday. Britain’s Emma Pooley, a silver medallist
over a much hillier course in Beijing in 2008, finished sixth.

Pooley said: ‘I just couldn’t go any
faster. A lot hangs on this. For British cycling, for my coach. I
suppose I was more disappointed because I had a chance of getting a
medal. That’s the mistake of being an optimist. Perhaps I should be more
pessimistic.’

London 2012 Olympics: Gemma Howell begins judo campaign

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GB's judo gem: Howell wins biggest battle after injury and prepares for London debut

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UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 30 July 2012

Olympics 2012

Nine months ago, Gemma Howell lay on the judo mat in agony, subjected to physical and mental torture. Going through her head were the words, ‘Not again.’

She knew instantly that her right knee had just experienced the same searing pain as her left had a year earlier. That meant another anterior cruciate ligament injury — at the worst possible time.

‘Someone tapped me on the leg and it just went,’ she says. ‘It was panic. I thought straight away, “It can’t be…” But it felt too similar to my first injury to not be.

Brave Brit: Gemma Howell (in white) has recovered from two serious injuries to make the Olympics

Brave Brit: Gemma Howell (in white) has recovered from two serious injuries to make the Olympics

‘I was lying on my back crying my eyes out. Initially it was the pain but afterwards it was the worry. I knew it was a year to the Games and obviously it’s such a long road to recovery.’

On Tuesday, Howell, one of Sportsmail’s Magnificent Seven talents, reaches the end of that road and begins the path to Olympic fulfilment. The 22-year-old fights Gevrise Emane, from France, in the -63kg class at the ExCeL at 9.37am.

Emane is the world and European champion, so Howell will have to summon an immense effort to progress and be involved in the final at 4pm. But just being here is a testament to her strength of character.

She only began full training in March, after surgery and months of rehabilitation, and was immediately thrown into a race against time to qualify for London.

Howell had to convince selectors she was worth picking by winning her first major competition back, the British Open on May 12. Victory or home, they told her.

Rough and tumble: Gemma Howell

Rough and tumble: Gemma Howell

A grand prix in Baku, Azerbaijan, was fitted in as a sharpener but the rustiness fell away quicker than expected and Howell walked away with bronze. Then on judgement day at the K2 centre in Crawley a week later, she did as she had been asked.

‘There was a lot of pressure riding on that competition, but I figured I’ll have to deal with pressure at the Olympics,’ she says. ‘I got told I had to win it. So it was a good feeling when I did.’

Since then Howell has entered three more tournaments — and won them all. ‘I’m quite pleased with how they’ve gone,’ she says with a smile that belies the understatement.

Her success has barely been credible. She says: ‘I’ve progressed in every one — doing so many in such a short space of time, I’ve made up for the ones I missed while I was out.’

Which brings us to what exactly happened while she was out. How, after nine months off the mat in 2010 through cruciate ligament injury, did she find the resolve to do it all again With a little help from man’s best friend, she confesses.

‘I got Roxy, my yellow Labrador, when I did my first knee and when I was coming back I’d walk her and teach her to give me a high five. This time my dad Peter has kept her in the Midlands (Howell moved from Telford in Shropshire to train at the British Judo Institute in Dartford four years ago) and I would talk to him while he was walking her. So she’s had her uses again.’

Once a scan had determined the exact nature of her injury, Howell was operated on within 24 hours.

‘They took a hamstring graft to replace the cruciate ligament,’ she says. ‘Now I’ve got the two indestructible knees!’

Then came the hours of solitary rehab.

‘Everything that my physio or strength and conditioning coach told me to do I just did, religiously. A lot of it was by myself, so it’s hard to have that motivation, but I had to keep seeing what I was doing it for.

Up against it: Howell has a tough opening match but believes she can win a medal

Up against it: Howell has a tough opening match but believes she can win a medal

‘Even before I could do any leg stuff I was on the mat with my judo kit doing gripping, then gradually introduced turns on the knee.

‘It was a big challenge building my confidence back, particularly because I had the time pressure, I couldn’t afford any set-backs.’

Howell draws on an inspirational figure to answer the question of what she can achieve at London.

‘I saw Kelly Holmes win in Athens, when she had her eyes popping out of her head. Since then I’ve read her autobiography and know how many injuries she’s had and the difficult path she had to get there. I’ve dreamed of being an Olympic champion for as long as I can remember. I think, on my day, I could win it. You’ve got to believe that you can otherwise you’ve got no chance.’

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