The indestructible "Mr. One-and-Only" of FC Bayern

FC Bayern is giving its fans an early Christmas present: Thomas Müller has extended his expiring contract by a further year and will stay until 2025. About a footballer who has redefined his indispensability at the record champions.

Last Sunday, Thomas Müller scored a goal. It would have been his third of the season, but it didn't count. The man they call the space interpreter had misinterpreted the space he was in. He was offside. Nevertheless, the goal was beautiful, Müller had cleverly made his way through, picked out goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and tucked the ball into the far corner. It was a little bitter, the attacking player thought. However, he took positives from not scoring: "I know that I could if I had to, if I wasn't offside." That was also a salute to Thomas Tuchel, under whom Müller's role had become smaller and smaller. But apparently still big enough to carry on together.

On Tuesday, FC Bayern made public what everyone had suspected and some had already known in advance. The 34-year-old's expiring contract was extended by one year, and their journey together will continue until the summer of 2025, when it could come to the cheesiest of ends. This is because the Champions League final will once again be held in Munich in early summer. A farewell with the trophy in hand, possibly together with Manuel Neuer, would be to the taste of the club and its fans, for whom Müller has become a living one-and-only. An interpreter of space, a fun guy, a radio broadcaster, an admonisher and liaison officer. When the majority of his team-mates did not show their faces in the fans' corner after the cup embarrassment at third-division Saarbrücken this season, he publicly reprimanded them.

Müller always stands his ground

Müller is aware of the club's soul, which is more fragile than one would think in view of the gigantic successes and self-confident alpha males at all levels. Müller is a man with whom many people can identify. Not only at FC Bayern. He also enjoys great credit as an international player, which extends far beyond the club's borders. Because this Müller is not an unapproachable artificial figure. Not someone who gets caught up in empty phrases. Müller always faces up, sometimes he jokes, sometimes he scolds. When journalists get on his nerves with questions, he says so openly. Many people like that.

However, the soccer fans didn't just like the Müller loudspeaker, which could be heard louder and clearer than ever before during the coronavirus period. This provided interesting insights into Müller's power on the pitch in front of the ghostly backdrops. He was a conductor and motivator. And, of course, always a footballer who gave and still gives his team something special (even if it is becoming less so, at the club and in the DFB team), because he interprets the game differently than many other footballers. Müller is intangible in many phases, appearing in places that some do not recognize as places. This is how he made himself indispensable in Munich for well over ten years. He played and shone alongside Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. He was the congenial partner of Robert Lewandowski. And can also do it with Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sané and Harry Kane.

"Like the Frauenkirche in Munich"

Only rarely, though. At least from the start. Müller, the indispensable player, has had to make friends with a new role under Tuchel and has accepted it without complaint. It's no secret that he would like to play more. But he makes this point with his own charm, not with anger and force. Also because he knows that Munich have an outstanding attacking line-up. Musiala, Sané and Kane in particular hardly provide the coach with any arguments to make lasting changes to the statics of the attacking play. And then there is Kingsley Coman, who is also a mainstay with his dribbling strength and pace.

Given his 684 competitive matches for Munich - just a few fewer than goalkeeping legend Sepp Maier (706) - it was hardly surprising that the club's officials were not sparing with their praise. Müller "belongs to FC Bayern like the Frauenkirche belongs to Munich", said President Herbert Hainer after announcing the new contract: "There will never be another player like Thomas Müller." And he wants to inspire the fans "with goals, goal contributions, my love of the game, my passion for soccer - and hopefully with many more titles." 32 already. An incredible number. Which can also be attributed to his resilience. Under coach Niko Kovac, he was once appointed as a stopgap. Kovac left, Hansi Flick came in and Müller became influential again. Then Nagelsmann followed, and it wasn't always easy under the young coach either. But Müller did Müller things and that helped FC Bayern. And the DFB team, from which he had once been flash-shaved by Joachim Löw, couldn't do without him either. Löw himself brought him back.

The rage engine of FC Bayern

In sporting terms, other players have overtaken the 34-year-old, but he refuses to be left behind. And when he does play, he usually makes a case for himself. Like against Stuttgart, where he made a strong impact as a provider. In a week that was crucial for the Munich side, who had started it with a 5-1 debacle at Eintracht Frankfurt in their bones, Müller was on hand. Against Manchester United, in game one after the Bundesliga defeat, he came on as a substitute and was instrumental in Kingsley Coman's winning goal. And against VfB, he shone with his constant threat.

However, Müller now seems more important off the pitch than on it. In the dressing room, which is the sanctuary of every team, his word is probably still one of the hardest. The rebuke after the cup exit impressively underlined this. And even after the defeat against Frankfurt, he invoked Munich's anger engine. And everyone knew what would happen when it kicked in. This season, BVB had experienced this, having been left in ruins by the Munich team. If Müller fulfills his contract, the man with the jersey number "25" would also have been at the club for 25 years. CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen hailed the leader as a unique "player, personality and identification figure", while coach Tuchel called Müller a "playing legend". Exciting, perhaps a sign of things to come?