Some five months after the event, Thomas Müller has been presented with the adidas Golden Boot as the top scorer at last summer’s World Cup in South Africa. The Bayern star joined World Cup winner Iker Casillas (Golden Glove as best keeper) and Diego Forlán (Golden Ball as best player) at adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach on Tuesday for the official presentation of the individual awards.
“It's unbelievable, the Golden Boot is very special indeed,” commented Müller, who received the trophy from Herbert Hainer, chairman of the adidas group and also a member of the Bayern Munich supervisory board, and Franz Beckenbauer, FCB honorary president and member of the FIFA Executive committee.
The player admitted that, prior to the tournament, he had never for a moment imagined ending up as the leading scorer. “You go to the World Cup thinking only about winning the tournament. You don’t think about winning individual awards,” said Müller, who won the Golden Boot with five goals and three assists, leaving him marginally ahead of David Villa (Spain) and Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands), who both also scored five.
“I was nervous on the plane home, worrying about Villa or Sneijder scoring another goal,” revealed Müller, who was travelling with the Germany squad during the Final between the Dutch and eventual winners Spain. As well as the Golden Boot, Müller was also named Best Young Player at the finals in South Africa.
“I’m very proud,” continued Müller, “I’ve joined an elite group at a very young age.” Previous winners of the award include Müller’s current team-mate Miroslav Klose, Ronaldo, Gary Lineker, Mario Kempes, Eusebio and Gerd ‘Der Bomber’ Müller. “It's a massive honour!” the young Bayern star declared.
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