Thomas Müller was Bayern's only ever-present in the Bundesliga last season with the full set of 34 appearances – just as in the two previous campaigns. His 13 assists made him second only to Franck Ribéry as the league's top provider, and his 83rd-minute goal brought Bayern to within an ace of winning the Champions League. “And you do still regret missing out," the 22-year-old admitted to fcbayern.de.
However, insisted the man who finished top scorer at the 2010 World Cup, last season is now history and the focus is exclusively on this weekend's first match in the Bundesliga's milestone 50th year. Prior to the opener in Fürth, Müller spoke to fcbayern.de about the forthcoming battle for the title, board member for sport Matthias Sammer, the club’s new signings, and his latest hobby.
Interview: Thomas Müller
fcbayern.de: Hi Thomas, are you already excited about the Bundesliga restart in two days?
Thomas Müller: Excited may not be quite the word, because it basically all started for us with the Supercup. That was the first match which involved serious preparation in terms of our training rhythm. So we're basically already up and running, also due to the match in Regensburg. I'm looking forward to the restart, and basically you’re always eager for it to start up again.
It's the Bundesliga's 50th season. Can you pick out a special moment from the past, regardless of whether you were involved or not?
Well, I didn't really see a lot of the first 30 years (laughs). 2001 was special, of course. It was very tight in the title race on a couple of occasions around that time. It's fascinating when you think about how much good fortune, bad luck, fate and above all emotions derive from the Bundesliga. It's basically the most exciting thing you can get out of football.
You open away to promoted Fürth. What are you expecting at the TROLLI Arena?
A tough match. Fürth are riding a wave of euphoria after gaining promotion and they'll do whatever they can to keep a clean sheet at home. They'll give it everything, they'll run and fight, and that's always uncomfortable. They'll be up for it and they'll push us all the way.
You've started on a winning note in the Supercup and the DFB Cup. What's your take on the two matches so far?
I think there were many positives in both matches. As you'd expect, we're not 100 percent there yet in terms of team tactics. We played really well as a team in the first half against Dortmund and basically shut them out, but we weren't as determined in the second half and gave up too much space, partly because we tired and Dortmund applied more pressure. But it's not a problem at this stage. If we keep it tight in defence, we already looked tough to beat. That has to be our goal, imposing ourselves on the play for 90 minutes. Overall I think we're in good shape, and of course the season is still young.
Are you still reflecting on the closing stages of last season, especially the Champions League final, where Bayern so nearly won the cup thanks to your late goal?
Occasionally you see something on TV, and recently I saw a report which focused on the fans’ emotional reactions at the decisive moments. And when you see that, you do still regret missing out at the time. But we have to move on, because it's no longer relevant to the new campaign.
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