Gerd Müller Trophy for year’s best striker awarded for the first time

FC Bayern now has a permanent place among football’s most prestigious awards thanks to its greatest striker as the Gerd Müller Trophy was awarded for the first time at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony. The trophy is named after Gerd Müller, the finest goalscorer in Bayern’s history, and honours the best striker of the past year for club and country. It was handed over for the first time by Uschi and Nicole Müller, the widow and daughter of the Bayern legend, who passed away in August 2021.

First German Ballon d‘Or winner

Müller became the first German to win the Ballon d’Or back in 1970, when it was still known as the European Footballer of the Year. He remains the top scorer in Bayern’s history with 566 goals in 607 games, won three consecutive European Cups, the Intercontinental Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup and four Bundesliga titles. Müller got 68 goals in 62 caps for Germany, lifting the World Cup in 1974 and European Championship in 1972.

The inaugural winner of the Gerd Müller Trophy was Robert Lewandowski. “Gerd was an inspiration for me. I wanted to get closer to him before every season and break more of his records. I’m very happy not just because I know what a good player he was but also what an amazing person he was,” said the ex-Bayern forward, who last year won a special award for the best goalscorer of 2021. The award didn’t have a name back then, but the organisers of the event, France Football, have now decided to present it annually in the name of Der Bomber.

Read more on the greatest striker in Bayern history here: