Martínez may refer to:

Places[link]

United States of America[link]

• Martinez, California
• Martinez, Georgia
• Martinez, Texas

Argentina[link]

• Martínez, Buenos Aires
• Coronel Martínez de Hoz, Buenos Aires Province
• Villa Martínez de Hoz, Buenos Aires Province
• Martínez del Tineo, Salta

Spain[link]

• Martínez, Ávila

People[link]

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

David Moyes

Personal information
Full name	David William Moyes[1]
Date of birth	(1963-04-25) 25 April 1963 (age 49)
Place of birth	Glasgow, Scotland
Playing position	Centre Back
Club information
Current club	Everton (manager)
Youth career
0000–1980	Drumchapel Amateurs
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1980–1983	Celtic	24	(0)
1983–1985	Cambridge United	79	(1)
1985–1987	Bristol City	83	(6)
1987–1990	Shrewsbury Town	96	(11)
1990–1993	Dunfermline Athletic	105	(13)
1993	Hamilton Academical	5	(0)
1993–1999	Preston North End	143	(15)
Total		535	(46)
Teams managed
1998–2002	Preston North End
2002–	Everton
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

David William Moyes (born 25 April 1963) is a Scottish former footballer and the current manager of English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year. He is also on the Committee for the League Managers Association in an executive capacity.

Moyes made over 550 league appearances as a centre half in a playing career that began with Celtic, where he won a championship medal. He then played for Dunfermline Athletic and ended his playing career with Preston North End. He became a coach at Preston, working his way up to assistant manager before eventually taking over as manager in 1998, his first managerial position.

Moyes became manager of Everton in March 2002 and under him the club qualified for the Champions League in 2005 and reached the FA Cup final in 2009. Upon reaching his tenth anniversary at the club Moyes received praise from many fellow managers including Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger and Kenny Dalglish for his achievements at Everton, despite operating with a limited budget.^[2] His service to Everton was also raised in Parliament by Steve Rotheram MP.^[3] Moyes is the third-longest serving manager in the Premier League and the English football league system as a whole, behind Ferguson and Wenger.

Playing career[link]

This section requires expansion.

Moyes enjoyed an unremarkable playing career as a journeyman centre half beginning at Celtic, where he won a championship medal, and ending with Preston North End, with whom he secured his first managerial position.

Moyes made over 550 league appearances in his career before becoming a coach at Preston, working his way up to assistant manager before eventually taking over as manager in 1998.

• Preston North End &100000000000000070000007 years, &10000000000000253000000253 days
• Hamilton Academicals &100000000000000000000000 years, &1000000000000005000000050 days
• Dunfermline &100000000000000030000003 years, &100000000000000000000000 days
• Shrewsbury Town &100000000000000020000002 years, &10000000000000275000000275 days
• Bristol City &100000000000000020000002 years, &1000000000000002000000020 days
• Cambridge United &100000000000000010000001 year, &10000000000000347000000347 days
• Celtic &100000000000000030000003 years, &10000000000000300000000300 days

Management career[link]

Preston North End[link]

Moyes took over as Preston manager in January 1998, taking over from Gary Peters as the club struggled in Division Two and were in danger of relegation. He had spent much of his playing career preparing for management, taking coaching badges at just 22 years of age and compiling notes on managers he had played under, their techniques and tactics.^[4] Preston avoided relegation at the end of the 1997–98 season and reached the Division Two playoffs the following season which they failed to win. The following season though, Moyes guided Preston to the Division Two title and a promotion to Division One. An even greater achievement perhaps was to steer Preston into the Division One playoffs the season after that, with largely the same squad. Preston lost in the final of the playoffs in May 2001. One month later, Moyes signed a new five-year contract with the club.^[5] Towards the end of the following season, he left for Everton, to take over from fellow Scotsman Walter Smith in March 2002. Moyes was in charge of Preston 243 times, of which his team won 113 games, lost 63 and drew 67.

Everton[link]

Early years[link]

Moyes joined Everton on 14 March 2002^[6] and at his unveiling press conference, declared that Everton were 'The People's Club' on Merseyside. He said:

"I am from a city (Glasgow) that is not unlike Liverpool. I am joining the people's football club. The majority of people you meet on the street are Everton fans. It is a fantastic opportunity, something you dream about. I said 'yes' right away as it is such a big club." ^[7]

His first game in charge was against Fulham at Goodison Park. Everton won the game 2–1, with David Unsworth scoring after just thirty seconds.^[8]

Prior to his appointment, Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright contacted Moyes and invited him to his home in London to discuss the available position at Everton. Moyes was reluctant as he was driving from Preston to Bristol on a scouting mission, he was looking at Nathan Ellington. After the game, Moyes drove from Bristol to London where he met Kenwright for an hour, after the meeting he drove back to Preston from London – a 550-mile round trip.

Everton managed to sustain a good run of form and avoided relegation, which was a genuine threat when he was originally appointed. Despite having a history and list of honours only surprassed by the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United, the past decade had not been a successful time for the Toffees, with an FA Cup win in 1995 and a sixth place finish in 1996 being about the only bright spots for the club that side of 1990.

Moyes prepared for his first full season in charge at Everton by signing Chinese international Li Tie, Nigerian defender Joseph Yobo and Goalkeeper Richard Wright^[9] and axed older players such as Jesper Blomqvist and David Ginola. Everton were edged out of qualification for the following season's UEFA Cup on the last day of the season by Blackburn Rovers, following a defeat to Manchester United, and finished 7th in the league. Moyes was awarded LMA Manager of the Year for the first time, to go with the Premier League Manager of the Month award for November 2002, when the Toffees had been in the Champions League places.^[10]

For the 2003–04 season Moyes signed Kevin Kilbane from Sunderland, James McFadden from Motherwell, Nigel Martyn from Leeds United and Francis Jeffers returned on loan from Arsenal. Poor results followed though and Everton did not win a game in 2004 until 28 February. A confrontation between Moyes and Duncan Ferguson at Everton's training ground was said to be symptomatic of the problems at the club.^[11] On 12 April 2003 Moyes was sent to the stands during a game against West Brom by referee Steve Bennett for using foul and abusive language and for improper behaviour.^[12] Everton finished 17th with 39 points, the lowest total in the club's history (although survival had been confirmed some time earlier),^[13] just avoiding relegation.

2004-2009[link]

During the summer of 2004, despite the turmoil surrounding the club’s recent form,^[14] Moyes managed to bring in Tim Cahill and Marcus Bent. To this day, Cahill is considered to be one of Moyes' best signings, scoring 15 goals in his first season playing for Everton. Those who left the club were Tomasz Radzinski, Tobias Linderoth, David Unsworth and, most significantly Wayne Rooney. Later the Daily Mail published extracts from Rooney's autobiography, claiming that Moyes had forced Rooney out of the club and then leaked the details to the press.^[15] Moyes went on to sue for libel before settling out of court when Rooney apologised and agreed to pay for damages.^[16] Moyes donated the undisclosed damages from the suit to the Everton Former Players' Foundation.^[17]

During the 2004–05 season Everton went on to surpass all expectations by finishing fourth in the league and securing a place in the following season's Champions League, Moyes again being awarded the LMA Manager of the Year award.^[10] Moyes then broke club's transfer record to bring in striker James Beattie in January and, as influential midfielder Thomas Gravesen left, Mikel Arteta came in on loan.

At the beginning of the 2005–06 season, Everton struggled again and were battling relegation when they had been expected to push for Europe. Their European adventure was short lived as well. Moyes fought back by signing Nuno Valente, Andy van der Meyde, Simon Davies, and Phil Neville; signed Matteo Ferrari on loan; and made Mikel Arteta a permanent signing. They climbed from bottom place in late October to a secure 11th place finish at the end of the season.

Moyes broke the club transfer record for a second time at the start of the 2006–07 season with the £8.6m acquisition of Andrew Johnson. Joleon Lescott was also signed from Wolves while goalkeeper Tim Howard arrived on a loan deal, which was later made permanent. All of these players would prove to be successful signings, further enhancing Moyes's reputation as a team builder. Whilst Everton's league form flourished again, their record in the FA Cup under Moyes did not improve: in the third round they crashed out 4–1 to Blackburn Rovers. An improved league position of sixth was secured along with UEFA Cup football for the next season.

It was the 2007–08 season that Everton displayed the most consistency and stability since Moyes arrived at the club, finally ending the cycle of alternating between the top and bottom halves of the league. In his sixth full season in charge, Moyes secured fifth place in the league and reached the semi-final of the Football League Cup as well as the last 16 of the UEFA Cup, eventually being beaten on penalties by Fiorentina. Moyes also signed four more players who went on to become very important players for Everton: Yakubu was signed for another record fee of £11.25m, Steven Pienaar for £2.05m after an initial loan, Phil Jagielka was brought in for £4m, and Leighton Baines was signed for a fee that could rise to £6m. All of this gave Everton and its fans cause for optimism as a string of strong performances broke the pattern inconsistency which saw league finishes of 15th, 7th, 17th, 4th and 11th under Moyes. His reputation as a disciplinarian could be seen to manifest in Everton's yellow card count. They received just 27 yellow cards all season – the lowest in the league and 6 fewer than their nearest rival Liverpool.^[18]

Moyes recruited Steve Round as his assistant manager for the 2008–09 season to replace Alan Irvine, who had taken over as Preston North End manager the previous winter. Everton's first new player of the season, Lars Jacobsen, was brought in 2 games into the season. This was shortly followed by the signings of Segundo Castillo and Louis Saha. On deadline day, Moyes secured the services of goalkeeper Carlo Nash on a free transfer, and Marouane Fellaini for a club record £15 million. On 14 September Moyes was sent to the stands by referee Alan Wiley during a game against Stoke City. He was later fined £5,000 by the FA for improper conduct and warned about his future behaviour.^[19]

At the end of the transfer window January 2009, Moyes brought in Brazilian international striker Jô on loan from Manchester City. On 14 October 2008, Moyes agreed to extend his Goodison Park stay by a further five years.^[20] On 19 April 2009, Moyes led his team to an FA Cup semi-final victory over Manchester United, after a penalty shootout, to reach the final for the first time since 1995. In the final, Everton were beaten 2–1 by Chelsea despite taking a lead through Louis Saha in the opening minute.

2009/10 season onwards[link]

In the summer of 2009 Moyes sold Joleon Lescott to Manchester City for £22m, after a saga which lasted for the entire transfer window. With the £22m from the Lescott sale, Moyes brought in Johnny Heitinga, Sylvain Distin and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. He also signed Jo on a season long loan and Lucas Neill on a free transfer. Moyes was named as Premier League Manager of the Month for January 2010 after 3 wins and a draw. Moyes' took charge of his 600th match as a manager on 6 February 2010 in the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool which resulted in a 1–0 defeat. Everton ended the season in 8th place failing to qualify for Europe for the 1st time in 4 years, however a brilliant run of only 2 defeats in their last 24 league games suggested that if Everton did not have injuries to key players at the start of the season, Everton may have challenged for the Champions League places.

On 21 April 2010 it was reported that Sir Alex Ferguson had apparently endorsed Moyes as his successor as manager of Manchester United when he eventually retires.^[21]

On 14 May 2010, Moyes revealed that he would be interested in taking up the Celtic job in the future; that job did indeed become vacant at the end of the 2009–10 season with the departure of Tony Mowbray, but Moyes did not put his name forward for the vacancy and Neil Lennon was appointed instead.

On 12 August 2010, Moyes dismissed speculation linking him with the manager's job at Aston Villa left vacant by the resignation of Martin O'Neill.^[22] Moyes admitted an improper conduct charge in September in relation to his behaviour towards referee Martin Atkinson following a 3-3 draw with Manchester United. He was fined £8,000 with his assistant also admitting to the same charge.^[23] At the end of the 2010/11 campaign Moyes was once again linked with the Villa job, following Gerard Houlliers heart scare and he replied to the speculation "As far as I know I'm here and I'm the manager. "I want to have a club, though, where I can give the supporters something, I really do. "I want a good fresh challenge when we come back next summer and hopefully that will be the case."

"Mr. David Moyes is probably a fine example to everybody in government of stability and making the right decisions for the long term."

— Andy Burnham, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, ^[24]

In January 2012, Moyes became the fourth manager, after Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger and Harry Redknapp, to record 150 wins in the Premier League.^[25]

Career outside Management[link]

During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Moyes provided commentary for selected matches for BBC Radio 5 Live. Moyes co-owns the racehorse Desert Cry which was trained by Donald McCain.^[26]

Personal life[link]

Moyes has one daughter, who goes to Archbishop Temple School in Preston, where he previously managed Preston North End. He also has a son called David who went to college in Preston. Moyes' father, David Snr is a scout at Everton and previously a coach at Drumchapel Amateurs where Moyes began his career, his full-time occupation was a draughtsman and college lecturer. Moyes' mother, Joan, hailed from Portrush in Northern Ireland and worked in clothes stores in Glasgow.^[27] David's cousin, Dessie Brown is secretary of Coleraine Football Club.^[28] Moyes is a supporter of Labour Party and backed the campaign of Andy Burnham to become leader back in 2010.

Honours[link]

Player[link]

Celtic[link]

Winner

• Scottish League Premier Division (1): 1981–82

Bristol City[link]

Winner

• English Associate Members' Cup (1): 1986

Runner-up

• English Associate Members'Cup (1): 1987

Preston North End[link]

Winner

• Football League Third Division (1): 1995-96

Managerial[link]

Preston North End[link]

Winner

• Football League Second Division (1): 1999–2000

Everton[link]

Winner

• Liverpool Senior Cup (3): 2003, 2005, 2007

Runner-up

• FA Cup (1): 2009

Individual[link]

• LMA Manager of the Year (3): 2002–03, 2004–05, 2008–09 (Joint Record)
• Premier League Manager of the Month (8): November 2002, September 2004, January 2006, February 2008, February 2009, January 2010, March 2010, October 2010
• North West Manager of the Year (1): 2007–08

League Finishes[link]

With Preston North End[link]

• 1997-98 : 15th
• 1998-99: 5th
• 1999–2000: 1st (Promotion To Football League First Division)
• 2000-01: 4th

With Everton[link]

• 2001-02: 15th
• 2002-03: 7th
• 2003-04: 17th
• 2004-05: 4th (Qualification for UEFA Champions League)
• 2005-06: 11th
• 2006-07: 6th (Qualification for UEFA Cup)
• 2007-08: 5th (Qualification for UEFA Cup)
• 2008-09: 5th (Qualification for UEFA Europa League)
• 2009-10: 8th
• 2010-11: 7th
• 2011-12: 7th

Statistics[link]

Player[link]

Manager[link]

As of 13 May 2012.

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Preston North End		12 January 1998	15 March 2002	&10000000000000234000000234	&10000000000000113000000113	&1000000000000005800000058	&1000000000000006300000063	&1000000000000004828999948.29
Everton		15 March 2002	Present	&10000000000000473000000473	&10000000000000198000000198	&10000000000000123000000123	&10000000000000152000000152	&1000000000000004185999941.86
Total				&10000000000000707000000707	&10000000000000311000000311	&10000000000000181000000181	&10000000000000215000000215	&1000000000000004399000043.99

References[link]

External links[link]

• David Moyes career stats at Soccerbase
• David Moyes management career stats at Soccerbase
• David Moyes profile at the League Managers Association
• David Moyes at the Internet Movie Database
• David Amongst Goliaths David Moyes article

Thomas Müller

Müller playing for Germany in a 2011 match against Austria.
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Müller
Date of birth	(1989-09-13) 13 September 1989 (age 22)
Place of birth	Weilheim, West Germany
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder/Forward
Club information
Current club	Bayern Munich
Number	25
Youth career
1993–2000	TSV Pähl
2000–2008	Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2008–2009	Bayern Munich II	35	(16)
2008–	Bayern Munich	106	(32)
National team‡
2004–2005	Germany U16	6	(4)
2007	Germany U19	1	(0)
2008	Germany U20	1	(1)
2009–2010	Germany U21	6	(1)
2010–	Germany	27	(10)
Honours Bayern Munich Winner Bundesliga 2010 Winner DFB-Pokal 2010 Runner-up UEFA Champions League 2010 Winner DFL-Supercup 2010 Runner-up DFB-Pokal 2012 Runner-up UEFA Champions League 2012  Germany Third FIFA World Cup 2010
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:21, 5 May 2012 (UTC)[3]. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:11, 31 May 2012 (UTC)[2]

Thomas Müller (German pronunciation: [ˈtʰoː.mas ˈmʏ.lɐ]; born 13 September 1989) is a German footballer who plays for Bayern Munich and the German national team. Müller plays as a midfielder or forward, and has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles—as an attacking midfielder, second striker, and on either wing. He has been praised for his pace, technique and composure, and has shown consistency in scoring and creating goals. A product of Bayern's youth system, he made his first-team breakthrough in the 2009–10 season after Louis van Gaal was appointed as the main coach; he played almost every game as the club won the league and cup double and reached the Champions League final. This accomplishment earned him an international call-up, and at the end of the season he was named in Germany's squad for the 2010 World Cup, where he scored five goals in six appearances as the team finished in third place. He was named as the Best Young Player of the tournament and won the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, with five goals and three assists.

Club career[link]

Early career[link]

Born in Weilheim, Müller played as a youth for TSV Pähl, and at the age of 10 he made the 50 km journey to join local Bundesliga side Bayern Munich in 2000.^[4] He progressed through the youth system and was part of the team that finished runner-up in the Under-19 Bundesliga in 2007.^[4] He made his debut for the reserve team in March 2008 when he replaced Stephan Fürstner in a Regionalliga match against SpVgg Unterhaching,^[5] in which he scored. He made two more Regionalliga appearances in the 2007–08 season, while continuing to play for the under-19 team. The following season, Bayern's second string qualified for the newly formed 3rd Liga, and Müller established himself as a key player – he played in 32 out of 38 matches^[6] and scored 15 times to make him the league's fifth top scorer.^[7] He also became involved in the first-team under then manager Jürgen Klinsmann; he appeared in pre-season friendlies,^[8][9] and made his full debut on 15 August 2008, when he came on as a substitute for Miroslav Klose for the last ten minutes of a Bundesliga match against Hamburger SV.^[10] Despite Müller feeling that his performance did not go well,^[11] he made three more Bundesliga appearances that season^[6] and made his Champions League debut on 10 March 2009 when he was substituted on in the 72nd minute for Bastian Schweinsteiger in a 7–1 win over Sporting CP. He scored Bayern's last goal as they won the tie 12–1 on aggregate.^[12]

Breakthrough season[link]

In February 2009, Müller signed his first contract for the senior team, a two year deal effective from the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mate Holger Badstuber.^[13] He was prepared to be loaned or even transferred away to find first-team football,^[11] but when Louis van Gaal was appointed manager, both players became fixtures in the Bayern first team from the start of the season.^[14] In the first few matches Müller was a regular substitute, and on 12 September 2009, he was brought on against Borussia Dortmund and scored two goals in a 5–1 victory.^[15] Three days later, he scored another brace in a 3–0 Champions League victory over Maccabi Haifa.^[16] He rounded off September by being named the Bundesliga player of the month^[17] and earned praise from his namesake, legendary former Bayern and Germany striker Gerd Müller.^[18] After the Haifa match, Müller was in the starting eleven for almost every match,^[19] only missing one match – a Champions League match against Bordeaux, for which he was suspended,^[20] because he was sent off in an earlier match against the same team.^[21]

In February 2010, Müller signed a new contract with Bayern Munich through 2013.^[22] During the second half of the season, Müller continued to be a regular first-team starter,^[14] usually playing in a central striking role due to the availability of other wide players Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. In April 2010, he scored the second goal in a 2–1 win against title rivals Schalke 04,^[23] and in the penultimate league match of the season, he scored the first hat-trick of his career,^[24] in a 3–1 win over Bochum which effectively secured the German title for Bayern.^[25] The title was confirmed a week later with a 3–1 win at Hertha BSC,^[26][27] a match which Müller started. For the season he played in all 34 Bundesliga matches, starting 29, and recorded 13 goals and 11 assists.^[14] Bayern and Müller were back in Berlin the following week, to face Werder Bremen in the final of the DFB-Pokal. Müller started the match and Bayern won 4–0 to complete the domestic double.^[28] Müller scored four goals and made two assists during the competition, which made him its leading scorer for the season.^[29] Bayern's season ended in pursuit of a first treble, in the 2010 Champions League Final against Internazionale at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid. It was not to be, however, as they lost 2–0, with both goals coming from Diego Milito. Müller was in the starting line-up and had a key chance just after half-time, with Bayern 1–0 down, but his shot was saved by Júlio César.^[30] Müller felt particularly disappointed by this defeat,^[11] but he ended his first season as a first-team player with 52 matches played and 19 goals in all competitions.^[14] In a poll conducted by the sports magazine kicker, he was voted by his fellow professionals as the best newcomer of the 2009–10 season^[31] and was named in the Bundesliga team of the season.^[32] Müller credits Van Gaal for having had the biggest part to play in his rise to success – the coach arrived with a reputation for promoting youth team players, particularly at Ajax, and consistently gave Müller his chance in the first-team, going as far to say "Müller spielt bei mir immer" (with me, Müller will always play).^[33] Müller, in return, described Van Gaal as "a genius technician", who makes players "improve every time".^[11]

2010–11 season[link]

Müller returned from his post-World Cup break to sign another contract extension, this time extending his stay at Bayern until 2015.^[34] As with all of Bayern's World Cup participants, he missed much of pre-season,^[35] and his first match back was the Supercup against Schalke 04 on 7 August. He was named in the starting 11, and scored the opening goal in a 2–0 win.^[36] Two weeks later he scored the opening goal of Bayern's league season in a 2–1 home win against VfL Wolfsburg.^[37] Müller played in every match of the first half of the season, usually as a starter,^[38] but as the team struggled for results, Müller was unable to match the previous season's goalscoring exploits,^[38] being dropped to the bench,^[33] and even receiving a telling off from Louis van Gaal after missing an easy chance in a 2–0 defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in August.^[11][39] He was philosophical about this dip in form, though,^[40] and after eight league games without a goal, he scored in a 4–1 win against Eintracht Frankfurt on 27 November;^[41] He followed that by scoring in consecutive league and cup wins against VfB Stuttgart three weeks later.^[42][43] These goals took his tally to eight goals in all competitions^[38] and included a spectacular goal to open the scoring in a 2–0 Champions League victory against Roma on 15 September.^[11][44] As his team was on its winter break, Müller was left to reflect on "an almost unbelievable first year as a pro".^[40] Müller began the second half of the season in good form, but was involved in an altercation with team-mate Arjen Robben, who was angered when Müller showed his displeasure at a poor free-kick Robben took during a 3–1 win at Werder Bremen.^[45] Müller again played in every game of the season and scored 19 goals (12 in the league),^[46] but the season was less successful for Bayern, as they finished third in the league,^[47] and were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal in the semi-finals by Schalke 04^[48] and in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League by Internazionale; Bayern had won 1–0 in the San Siro, and Müller scored 31 minutes into the second leg to make it 3–1 on aggregate, but Inter levelled the score at 3–3 in the 88th minute, to go through on the away goals rule.^[49] Müller's mentor Van Gaal was increasingly criticised for inflexibility in tactical, transfer and selection policy,^[50] and ultimately lost his job, being replaced with Jupp Heynckes.^[51]

2011–12 season[link]

In Bayern's first DFB-Pokal game Müller was awarded the man of the match after earning two penalties which were converted by Mario Gómez and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Müller then added a third in the closing stages to secure a 3–0 victory over Eintracht Braunschweig.^[52] It took Müller five matches for him to get his first league goal he scored it against Schalke 04 in Bayern's 2–0 win. Müller then scored in Bayern's next home game in the early stages of the match, Bayern went on to win the game 3–0. On 26 November 2011, Müller netted the opener on the half-hour in Bayern's 6–0 thrashing of FC Ingolstadt 04 giving him his second DFB-Pokal goal.^[53] Müller was on the short-list of this year's FIFA Ballon d'Or award.^[54] On 10 and 15 January, in Bayern's warm up friendlies Müller scored three goals in two games, a brace against the India national team (which Bayern then went on to win 4–0)^[55] and one goal in Bayern's other 4–0 victory over FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt.^[56] Müller provided two assists in Bayern's win over Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal. On 11 February, Bayern played Kaiserslautern and Müller ended a goal drought lasting since 24 September 2011 with a header in their 2–0 victory.^[57] On 31 March 2012, Müller played his 100th Bundesliga game against 1. FC Nuremberg.^[58][59] On 19 May 2012, Müller scored the opening goal in the UEFA Champions League final with a powerful header. He was substituted shortly afterwards. Bayern Munich however lost the final on penalties.

International career[link]

Müller wearing the number 13 for Germany.

Müller represented Germany at various youth levels, starting with the under-16s in 2004.^[60] In August 2009, he was called up to the under-21 team for his debut in a 3–1 friendly defeat against Turkey.^[61] He earned six caps for the under-21s and scored one goal,^[62] the eighth in an 11–0 thrashing of San Marino.^[63]

In October of the same year, Müller's regular appearances for Bayern's first team caused German national team manager Joachim Löw to publicly consider him for a call-up,^[64][65] despite initial reluctance from the Bayern Munich board;^[66] the following month, Müller was named in the squad for a friendly against Côte d'Ivoire.^[67] However, this coincided with the death of national team goalkeeper Robert Enke, which led to the cancellation of a match against Chile the same week.^[68] With less opportunity to try out new players, and with the under-21 team facing crucial qualifiers for the 2011 European Championship, Löw and under-21 manager Rainer Adrion felt that Müller was needed at the under-21 level, and Müller was called back into the under-21s.^[69]

He was back in the senior squad for its next get-together, a training session in Sindelfingen in January 2010,^[70] and was named in the squad for the following match, a friendly against Argentina in March.^[71] He made his debut in this game in the starting eleven at the Allianz Arena, his home stadium. He was substituted in the 66th minute for fellow debutant Toni Kroos as Germany lost 1–0.^[72]

2010 World Cup[link]

Müller was named in Germany's provisional 27-man squad for the 2010 World Cup along with seven other Bayern Munich players.^[73] Despite suffering a scare when he fell off his bicycle at the team's training camp in South Tyrol,^[74] Müller only received superficial injuries and made the final cut for the tournament when the squad was reduced to 23 players.^[75] He was allocated the number 13,^[76] normally worn by injured captain Michael Ballack,^[76] and previously worn by Müller's namesake Gerd.^[76] He earned his second international cap in the final warm-up match before the World Cup when he came on as a half-time substitute for Piotr Trochowski in a 3–1 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.^[77] He started the first game of Germany's World Cup campaign and scored the third goal – his first internationally – in a 4–0 win over Australia,^[78] winning Germany's goal of the month award in the process.^[79] He played in all Germany's group games, as they finished top of Group D; he scored twice and assisted once in the 4–1 victory over England in the round of 16.^[80] In the third minute of Germany's 4–0 quarter final win against Argentina, he opened the scoring with his fourth tournament goal.^[81] However, he picked up his second booking of the tournament in the first half, for a handball^[82] and was suspended for the semi-final defeat against Spain. Müller said that he felt far more nervous during the Spain game than any he was able to play.^[11] He returned to the team for the third-place playoff against Uruguay and scored the first goal, his fifth of the tournament, as Germany won 3–2 to take the bronze medals.^[83] The team's success was a culmination of a series of changes made after the national team's failure at Euro 2000. The Germans emphasized a more open, attack-minded style not previously associated with Germany, and included prominent young players, including Müller, Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil.^[84]

With five goals Müller ended as joint top goalscorer of the tournament. He earned the Golden Boot with these goals and his three assists.^[85] He also won the Best Young Player Award over fellow nominees André Ayew of Ghana and Giovani dos Santos of Mexico.^[86] For both awards, he succeeded a German team-mate, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, respectively, from 2006.^[87] In October 2010, he was named on the shortlist for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award along with four of his Germany team-mates.^[88] Reflecting on his World Cup success, Müller said "I basically got lucky, I hit form at just the right time".^[40]

Euro 2012[link]

Müller is challenged by Austria's Christian Fuchs in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying.

Müller started all ten of Germany's qualifiers for Euro 2012, as the team qualified for the finals with a 100% record. Müller provided assists for seven goals,^[89] three of which came in a 6–2 win over Austria in September 2011 which secured Germany's qualification for the finals with two games to spare.^[90] He scored three times in the campaign, two goals coming in a 4–0 win over Kazakhstan in March 2011,^[91] the third in a 3–1 win over Turkey in October of the same year.^[92]

Playing style[link]

Müller's role can be described as an attacking all-rounder,^[2][84] a player able to play in a variety of forward positions. As he came through the youth system, he was seen primarily as a midfielder,^[11] but since breaking into the first-team he has been used in more forward roles. Both Bayern Munich and the Germany national team usually play a 4-2-3-1 formation, and Müller is most often part of the three attacking midfielders behind the central striker. He can play in any of the attacking midfield roles but usually plays in the center for Bayern Munich,^[93] and on the right for Germany.^[94] He has been used as an out-and-out striker on occasion.^[95]

Müller has been praised for his maturity,^[96] pace, technique,^[97] awareness and positioning.^[40] He has been particularly noted for his composure; Germany manager Joachim Löw said he is "impervious to pressure" ^[11] and former Bayern manager Louis van Gaal said he has tremendous mental strength.^[40] A consistent scorer and creator of goals,^[3] he describes himself as a player who can find gaps in the opposition defence but not particularly good at dribbling or one-on-ones.^[11]

Personal life[link]

Müller was born in Weilheim, Upper Bavaria, and grew up in the nearby village of Pähl, which became the centre of media attention during his World Cup exploits.^[98] His parents are named Klaudia and Gerhard, and he has a brother, named Simon, who is two and a half years younger.^[98] He married girlfriend Lisa, a model^[99] in December 2009, after being engaged for two years.^[100] In June 2011 he became an ambassador for YoungWings, a charity that helps children who have suffered bereavement or trauma.^[101]

Career statistics[link]

Club statistics[link]

As of 19 May 2012 (2012 -05-19)^[update].^[3]