Müller: "Scoring three goals is fantastic"
In the wake of Germany's 4-0 victory over Portugal in their opening game at the World Cup, Thomas Müller was a man in demand. Journalists in the mixed zone and at the post-match press conference clamoured to hear from the 24-year-old who had just scored a hat-trick: once from the penalty spot, once from a similar distance from open play and the other a close-range tap in. Yet after being voted as Man of the Match by FIFA as well, there were rather too many individual plaudits for Müller's liking.
Understandably delighted as he was to have taken his international goal tally to 20 on his 50th appearance for Germany, the attacker was swift to emphasise the collective effort and his belief that personal triumphs are of secondary importance compared to the main objective of success as a group. It was the team that had won and scored four times; Müller had not done it single-handedly.
"Each goal was better than the previous one"
Müller was happy to give his thoughts on the game immediately after the final whistle, commenting: "Scoring three goals in one game is fantastic. Each goal was better than the previous one. When you go 1-0 up that puts the wind in your sails, and getting the second was a huge advantage, especially in this kind of weather. The game was as good as over when they went down to ten men. With the sending off I felt his hand on my face, but what happened afterwards was nothing to do with me."
However, the following morning Müller was in no mood for the chorus of praise in his direction to continue. A compromise was eventually reached though: he would answer one question for each goal he had scored. Perhaps the first question should be to enquire whether more than three questions would be allowed, although that would probably be a step too far. Instead, Müller agreed to answer one question about yesterday, one about today and one with a view to the future. Here is what he had to say...
Question one: What do you think was the decisive moment in the game?
Thomas Müller: When we went 2-0 up. You could see during Mats' [Hummels] celebration how close the team is.
Question two: After training this morning, the players have been given the rest of the day off. How will you spend your afternoon?
Müller: I'll relax by the pool quite a bit with the rest of the lads. To sum up, it'll be something like this: rest, have fun and play around a bit.
Question three: How important was the victory for the rest of the tournament?
Müller: First and foremost we picked up three points. But a good start is also important to help ease the pressure a little and to help you get into a groove.
Three questions, now we're finished. Thank you. You're welcome.