“Dear Gerd, you will always live with us, you will always be with us.”
Those were the words of FC Bayern president Herbert Hainer at the annual general meeting on Thursday evening once again to commemorate the late, great Gerd Müller.
“He embodies what FC Bayern stood for in the past and stands for today like no other. He is the greatest striker in German history and, as Franz Beckenbauer once said, ‘the most valuable player in our club’s history.’ Gerd Müller is the epitome of football and FC Bayern. He put a smile on people’s faces with his goals, which were often strange.”
A legacy of goals
Müller passed away on 15 August at the age of 75. He made history with the club and the Germany national team. “We shouldn’t be sad at this moment but rejoice in what Gerd Müller left us. Goals, goals, goals. That is his legacy,” Hainer continued. The striker scored an extraordinary 566 goals in 607 games for FC Bayern and still holds the Bundesliga record of 365 goals, being the league’s top scorer seven times.
68 goals in 62 games for Germany
Der Bomber joined FC Bayern in summer 1964, winning the Intercontinental Cup, three European Cups and a UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup. He was a four-time Bundesliga champion and four-time DFB Cup winner. Müller won the 1972 Euros and 1974 World Cup with Germany, including the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands in Munich. He remained with the club for a long time after his playing career as a coach with the youth section.
A club icon
“Gerd will always remain in my and in our hearts,” said CEO Oliver Kahn at the AGM. “He’s a club icon. You could always go to him. When we were training and he was on the other pitch training with the reserves, you could always go up to him, talk to him. He always had an encouraging word for you. His many goals are the foundation of today’s FC Bayern. We would never be where we are now without him.”
Herbert Hainer took stock of the past two years at the AGM:
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