This photo taken on June 18, 1974 in Hamburg shows West German forward Gerd Mueller (R) scoring on a header past Australian goalkeeper Jack Reilly and defender Doug Utjesenovic during the World Cup first round football match between West Germany and Australia. Mueller is suffering from Alzheimer disease.
DPA/Munich
German football generations past and present yesterday expressed sadness over the news that Bayern Munich legend and national playing icon Gerd Mueller has Alzheimer’s.
Bayern said Mueller was receiving treatment for the illness and that no official celebrations for his 70th birthday on November 3 would be held.
“Without the goals of Gerd Mueller Bayern Munich would not be where it is today,” former teammate and fellow playing great Franz Beckenbauer told N24 television.
Current national team player Thomas Mueller said he was moved by the news of the illness.
“Gerd is a great idol for me,” he told Bild newspaper. “When I joined the (Bayern) amateur side as a young player I got to know him and we got on great from the beginning.
“He gave me tips on how I as an attacking player should move in the penalty area. I am still very grateful today for this.”
Germany national team coach Joachim Loew also said he was saddened to hear the news of Mueller’s illness.
“Gerd Mueller was the greatest striker we ever had in Germany. He has an incredible goal ratio which speaks for itself. He is a striker we will never see again in today’s football,” Loew said in Dublin at a news conference ahead of his team’s Euro 2016 qualifying match against Ireland.
“This news has had a major impact on me but now is the time for his privacy to be observed and it is best to make as little comment as possible.”
Mueller was Germany’s all-time leading goalscorer until Miroslav Klose broke his record at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The man Germany nicknamed “the bomber of the nation” scored 68 goals in 62 games for West Germany, including the winner in the 1974 World Cup final when the hosts defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in Munich’s Olympic Stadium.
He was leading scorer at the 1970 World Cup with 10 goals and voted European footballer of the year that year.
Among Mueller’s many exploits, he won the league title four times, the European Cup three times and was the Bundesliga’s top scorer seven times, scoring a record 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games.
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge called Mueller “one of the all-time greats” of the game.
“Without his goals, Bayern Munich and German football would not be what it is today,” he said.
“There will probably never be another goalscorer like Gerd, yet despite all his successes, he was always very humble and reserved, which particularly impressed me.
“He was a fantastic teammate and is a friend. Gerd will always enjoy a place in the Bayern family.”
