Thomas Müller has long been the personification of FC Bayern, and now he holds the club record for appearances with 710. The Bavarian has played his part in countless unforgettable games since his senior debut in August 2008, winning a total of 33 trophies with his boyhood club. But it’s not just his incomparable winning mentality in big finals that has allowed Müller to steal the hearts of fans. From the first round of the DFB Cup, through freezing February afternoons in the Bundesliga, all the way to the 120th minute of a final, Müller always gives his all. fcbayern.com looks back on 10 special Müller games over the last 16 years with Bayern.
10 March 2009 vs. Sporting Lisbon: Dream Champions League debut
It was the start of something great as Müller made his Champions League bow in the round of 16 second leg in 2008/09. Introduced in the 72nd minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger, the 19-year-old scored in added time to round off the 7-1 win against Sporting Lisbon. His inimitable, unconventional style was winning over the fans even back then. Now 15 years on, Müller has 151 Champions League appearances under his belt as well as two European crowns – something few could’ve predicted that day in 2009.
12 September 2009 vs. Borussia Dortmund: Unfortgettable day at Westfalenstadion
Müller has played against Borussia Dortmund a total of 43 times in his career, but his very first encounter was perhaps his greatest Klassiker moment. He was brought on at half-time with the score at 1-1 on Matchday 5 of the 2009/10 Bundesliga season and inspired Bayern to a great second-half performance and a 5-1 victory. It was also the day Müller got his maiden Bundesliga goal – on the eve of his 20th birthday. In fact, he got his first two goals in the league after bagging a second at the Westfalenstadion.
1 May 2010 vs. Bochum: Hat-trick hero
Müller almost singlehandedly led Bayen to victory over Bochum on the penultimate day of 2009/10 and ultimately towards the title. He scored the first hat-trick of his professional career in the 3-1 win, netting once with his foot, once with his head and also using his chest to force the ball over the line in his inimitable style. A maiden hat-trick also brought a maiden Bundesliga title, given Bayern’s three-point lead and vastly superior advantage over Schalke that meant the final day was a mere formality.
23 April 2013 vs. Barcelona: Müller everywhere in Barca demolition
It was one of the greatest games in Bayern’s modern history, with Müller right at the heart of it as the Bavarians beat Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the 2012/13 Champions League semi-finals. The No.25 scored two of the goals and set up another on one of his finest nights where he was simply everywhere, not just in front of goal. “I knew I could only do my job by running a lot. I’m always good for 13 kilometres. 4-0 is a dream result,” Müller said afterwards. Bayern made doubly sure of reaching the final at Wembley by winning the return leg 3-0 in Spain. And we all remember what then happened in London…
17 May 2014 vs. Borussia Dortmund: A historic goal
Few goals describe Müller better than the one he scored in extra-time of the 2014 DFB Cup final against Dortmund. With 120 minutes in his legs, the No.25 wrapped things up at 2-0 with a lung-busting run from the halfway line up against Marcel Schmelzer before rounding Roman Weidenfeller and knocking the ball over the line. “That distance was so far… It was an epic race between Marcel Schmelzer and me. I’d already had cramp before then. My shinpads were at half-mast. I knew the run wouldn’t be easy because I was physically done. But I had to do it. It was the cherry on top. It was all over after that, and it all came out. It was just like relief,” Müller said of his goal that impressively underscored his status as a mentality monster.
14 February 2015 vs. Hamburg: Most goal contributions in one game
Müller has so far been directly involved in 462 goals over his 710 games for Bayern, scoring 245 and setting up a further 217, but no game has seen more Müller contributions than the 8-0 win against Hamburg in February 2015. The forward scored two of his own as well as providing three assists that day, saying: “When I see my teammates in a better position, then I pass them the ball. Assists are just as important to me as goals.”
22 April 2014 vs. Mainz: First time as captain
Müller’s creativity has long been paired with his leadership and communication abilities on the pitch. But the first time he got to lead the team out as captain was in April 2017 against Mainz. Although he was unable to inspire his boyhood club to more than a 2-2 draw, it still set the team up to win the title, which they completed the following week with a 6-0 win in Wolfsburg to wrap up his and the team’s fifth straight Meisterschale – and a sixth in total for him.
3 April 2019 vs. Heidenheim: Most remarkable cup tie
Müller is rarely shy of something to say, but even he was almost speechless after Bayern’s 5-4 win over second-tier Heidenheim in the quarter-finals of the 2018/19 DFB Cup. “I have no idea what to say about that game. Maybe I need to ask my family and my wife how to assess that game.” A red card for Niklas Süle inside 15 minutes had set the wheels in motion for a crazy evening. Bayern took the lead but soon found themselves 2-1 down before the Munich side stormed back to go 4-2 up. Yet Heidenheim weren’t done there and actually levelled things again. It took a late Bayern fifth to finally settle things and advance to the semis. “The fact we went back to 4-4 after leading 4-2, which we’d fought hard for, cannot please us, even if we were a man down. The game should’ve gone very differently after taking the lead early,” Müller stated afterwards. His analysis appeared to bear fruits as Bayern went on to lift the cup.
25 August 2021 vs. Bremer SV: Biggest win
Müller may have only played 45 minutes as captain that night, but it was still a win for the record books as Bayern took apart lower-league Bremer SV 12-0 in the first round of the 2021/22 DFB Cup. It remains the biggest victory in Müller’s long professional career at Bayern and the club’s second-largest winning margin in a competitive fixture since Bundesliga promotion in 1965, after the 16-1 thrashing of Waldberg in the 1997/98 DFB Cup.
1 September 2024 vs. Freiburg: Crowning landmark appearance in style
Matchday 2 of the current Bundesliga season saw Müller take to the field for the 710th time in a Bayern shirt at senior level, making him the club’s new record appearance holder. The 34-year-old came on in the 59th minute and wrestled momentum back from Freiburg by claiming a wonderful goal to wrap up the 2-0 win. As in his previous 709 outings, Müller gave all he had – a trait that the Südkurve paid tribute to with a banner that read: “710 times 100% for FC Bayern and no end in sight – Thank you, congrats and keep it up, Thomas!”. But the record is only a stop-off for our No.25. He's far from content with things yet. “We’ll really go for it this year,” the fan favourite announced to the crowd after his record-setting appearance.
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