FC Bayern – Müller on ex-coach Guardiola: “I’m not a prototype of a pep player”

Thomas Müller has been a member of FC Bayern’s professional squad for almost 13 years now. The 32-year-old has seen coaches come and go. In an interview with the sports picture Müller spoke specifically about two of his ex-coaches.

The Bayern veteran maintained a particularly good relationship with Louis van Gaal, to whom Müller owes his promotion to the pros. “We have a special history together, a lot of mutual trust,” enthused the 32-year-old about the Dutchman.

That’s why Müller took the call from Van Gaal, who wanted to guide him to Manchester United in 2015, seriously. “I didn’t rule out the option right away, although I felt very comfortable at the club at the time,” said the midfielder.

Ultimately, the club didn’t want to give him up, which is why “this question didn’t arise. That was a statement and an appreciation of the club back then, which impressed me. There was no inconsiderable transfer fee in the air,” said the national player .

Müller describes his relationship with another extremely successful FCB coach, Pep Guardiola, less intimately but just as respectfully: “I think the relationship between Pep and me has always been characterized by great respect for one another.”

Müller: “Pep learned to use my strengths well”

Nevertheless, there would have been sporting differences, especially at the beginning. “I’m not a prototype pep player like he had at Barcelona.”

It worked out between the two anyway, also because you learned something new. “What we both had in common: We were and are extremely inquisitive and hungry for success! Over time, Pep learned to use my strengths well,” says Müller. “With his tactics and training theory, he not only helped me to improve individually, but also to get into even more good final situations on the pitch. In 2016, I even scored the most goals of my career under him.”