The four best excerpts from our talk with Thomas Müller

A real interview highlight to end the year! Thomas Müller was the guest in our 1:1 Talk on the club’s TV channel FC Bayern TV LIVE. The born-and-bred Bavarian discusses, among other things, his time in the youth, the current season as well as Julian Nagelsmann, and explains what the oft-quoted ‘Bayern gene’ actually means. The full chat will be available to watch shortly, but for now here are the best statements from the 32-year-old stalwart, who has shone again this season with 12 assists in 16 Bundesliga games:

1. Müller on his playing style

“From a purely physical point of view, I’m not as athletic compared to some players. There are some where you say: ‘Wow, they’re machines!’ I’m more of the sleek and nimble type. I had to learn at a young age to find other routes to goal. For example with reading of the game, intelligence, interplay with teammates, timing and reaction speed.”

2. Müller on the current sporting situation

“We’re in a good place and my personal stats also look good. Nevertheless, I feel that we as a team and I personally can still get better. We’re still letting too much go in attack and defence. Although we’re attracting a lot of superlatives again at the moment – for example with our number of goals – there’s still more to do. We’ve certainly had some impressive performances, though. Expectations of us are very high, we want to be right at the top. We can’t be satisfied with decent performances. When you have such a strong group stage in the Champions League, for example, then you also want to get into the final. You need even more perfect performances for that.”

3. Müller on the ‘Bayern gene’

“The Bayern gene comes from the fact that the best players play here. That’s our requirement, too. Best player doesn’t just mean that a player has a good shot and can run fast, but that he has the whole package – and that grit and resilience is part of it. So it’s relatively simple.”

4. Müller on Julian Nagelsmann

“The coach is the most important man in the club. No matter whether it’s going well or badly, a coach can change the team, the players and himself. He’s responsible for what happens on the pitch and has to create structures to pass on responsibilities. We can be thoroughly satisfied with how it’s gone in Julian’s first six months. We’re setting [goal] records and he didn’t have any initial difficulties, despite losing some big names who knew the club inside out. Julian is someone who strives for success. He has the skillset that you need as a coach: analysing opponents and preparing the team, for example. He’s a good person who treats us well. All in all it’s been a very successful start.”