Having finished the 2019/20 German season with a record tally of 21 assists – as well as Bundesliga and German Cup winners’ medals – there is one more bridge to cross for Bayern forward Thomas Müller.
A veteran of the sides that featured in the 2012 and 2013 UEFA Champions League finals (winning the latter 12 months after being on the losing side despite scoring), the 30-year-old is well positioned to prepare his team-mates for the challenge of meeting Paris in the UEFA Champions League final. He spoke to UEFA.com about the current Bayern vintage and how living for the moment is the key.
On Hans-Dieter Flick’s Bayern regime
The reasons why our playing style has changed are due to the decisions of our coaching team, of course, especially of Hansi Flick, who said on his first day as an interim coach in autumn 2019: ‘I want us to take risks. I want us to press forward with courage. I want us not to have fear about having a stable defensive line.’ He relies a lot on communication, too. In this regard, the team has adopted this well.
Personally, a clear structure suits me fine. I grew up with these systems that focus on pressing. At Bayern, we have always wanted to be dominant. This started to some extent with Louis van Gaal. With Pep Guardiola we were very dominant when recovering the ball, too. So that is why I feel very well-suited to this role, especially because I can play in the centre again, and luckily I was able to deliver good performances myself during this time with Hansi Flick and therefore, I feel very good at the moment.
On winning the 2013 final after losing the 2012 decider
I can help the team most of all by playing like I have done in recent months, and by pulling us together as a team. The years 2012 and 2013 don’t have anything in common with today – they are completely different teams and different conditions. Environments in football are always rapidly changing. The only thing we can learn from the experiences that we gathered is that, especially with the high calibre matches, in football anything is possible at any time.
During the match, 90 minutes feels like a long time, but it’s over very quickly and we have to seize the opportunity for as long as we can, we have to give everything and we must not hesitate. We must not think about the importance of the match and rather convert that tension into enjoyment somehow. That is my message for this Sunday.
On how to prepare to face Paris
The best way is by doing all these FC Bayern and UEFA interviews which help me to get everything off my chest and get completely focused on the match. And other than that, the preparation we get from the coaching staff, which isn’t anything special really, but nonetheless is special in a way.
