As well as being one of the world’s best footballers, Thomas Müller is also a fine golfer. What is more, the German international pursues his hobby with ambition aplenty, often stopping by the driving range early in the morning before reporting to Munich’s Säbener Straße training ground each day. He has played his way to a high standard of proficiency with his clubs; the only downside is that his improved technique means he rarely has the need to hit the challenging bunker shots he likes most of all.
Yet presumably Müller is still sufficiently adept at playing through hazards. "I love hitting the ball out of bunkers", he once said, as good-naturedly as always. During the World Cup in Brazil, he took advantage of the squad’s location at Campo Bahia to work particularly hard on his bunker play. The beach in front of the Campo served as one big multidimensional sand trap for the gifted attacker, who could often be seen with a ball and club on the Atlantic coastline.
Moment of the match: Jubilation after Hummels’ goal
Müller even made time for golf practice ahead of Germany’s first 2014 World Cup match, though it has to be said that honing his stroke play did not have any adverse effects on his day job. The 24-year-old seemed even more at ease on the green grass of Salvador’s stadium than on the cultivated lawns of the golf course.
And while his golfing handicap is extremely low nowadays, he proved to be an even tougher prospect for opposing defenders to deal with. Müller scored a penalty, then from around 11 metres out and then again from close range. Three of Germany’s four goals that evening were struck by the man wearing the No13, leaving Portugal shell-shocked and Die Mannschaft as deserving 4-0 winners.
Germany vs. Portugal
Unlike golf, football is a team sport, which is why Müller was so quick to thank his team-mates after his glittering display. For him, the biggest moment was not making the score 1-0, 3-0 or 4-0 but instead when Mats Hummels gave Germany a 2-0 lead. "That goal and Mats’ celebratory run showed just how much of a unit this team is", Die Nationalelf’s hat-trick hero said.
83,957 metres under his belt: nobody ran more than Müller
By contrast, Müller remained relatively stationary after each of his goals, and had to be helped to his feet to fully celebrate the last of them. His attempts at jubilation seemed so reserved that former international team-mate Cacau jokingly criticised him after the match, saying: "Thomas still needs to work on his celebrations; they’re not yet those of a world champion." Müller’s restrained displays of emotion enabled him to reserve his energy, and it is hard to blame him once you realise how much ground he covers during a game. With 83,957 metres under his belt, the Bayern stalwart ran further than any other player at this summer’s tournament, German or otherwise.
Müller even held something back when it came to running during the Portugal match by covering 10.6 kilometres, the shortest distance he completed during the tournament. As this did not stop him scoring plenty of goals, the versatile forward player was able to contemplate the aesthetic value of his strikes after the game: "One of them was better than the others", he decided, but it was again an observation made light-heartedly, as it mattered not to Müller that none of them were particularly spectacular.
Indeed, the most important thing was to have scored three goals and secured three points: "Of course it’s important to get off to a good start, just to take the pressure off a little and gather some momentum", he explained. At that point he had no idea just how much momentum Die Mannschaft would gain.
created by sl
[bild1]
As well as being one of the world’s best footballers, Thomas Müller is also a fine golfer. What is more, the German international pursues his hobby with ambition aplenty, often stopping by the driving range early in the morning before reporting to Munich’s Säbener Straße training ground each day. He has played his way to a high standard of proficiency with his clubs; the only downside is that his improved technique means he rarely has the need to hit the challenging bunker shots he likes most of all.
Yet presumably Müller is still sufficiently adept at playing through hazards. "I love hitting the ball out of bunkers", he once said, as good-naturedly as always. During the World Cup in Brazil, he took advantage of the squad’s location at Campo Bahia to work particularly hard on his bunker play. The beach in front of the Campo served as one big multidimensional sand trap for the gifted attacker, who could often be seen with a ball and club on the Atlantic coastline.
Moment of the match: Jubilation after Hummels’ goal
Müller even made time for golf practice ahead of Germany’s first 2014 World Cup match, though it has to be said that honing his stroke play did not have any adverse effects on his day job. The 24-year-old seemed even more at ease on the green grass of Salvador’s stadium than on the cultivated lawns of the golf course.
And while his golfing handicap is extremely low nowadays, he proved to be an even tougher prospect for opposing defenders to deal with. Müller scored a penalty, then from around 11 metres out and then again from close range. Three of Germany’s four goals that evening were struck by the man wearing the No13, leaving Portugal shell-shocked and Die Mannschaft as deserving 4-0 winners.
Germany vs. Portugal
Unlike golf, football is a team sport, which is why Müller was so quick to thank his team-mates after his glittering display. For him, the biggest moment was not making the score 1-0, 3-0 or 4-0 but instead when Mats Hummels gave Germany a 2-0 lead. "That goal and Mats’ celebratory run showed just how much of a unit this team is", Die Nationalelf’s hat-trick hero said.
83,957 metres under his belt: nobody ran more than Müller
By contrast, Müller remained relatively stationary after each of his goals, and had to be helped to his feet to fully celebrate the last of them. His attempts at jubilation seemed so reserved that former international team-mate Cacau jokingly criticised him after the match, saying: "Thomas still needs to work on his celebrations; they’re not yet those of a world champion." Müller’s restrained displays of emotion enabled him to reserve his energy, and it is hard to blame him once you realise how much ground he covers during a game. With 83,957 metres under his belt, the Bayern stalwart ran further than any other player at this summer’s tournament, German or otherwise.
Müller even held something back when it came to running during the Portugal match by covering 10.6 kilometres, the shortest distance he completed during the tournament. As this did not stop him scoring plenty of goals, the versatile forward player was able to contemplate the aesthetic value of his strikes after the game: "One of them was better than the others", he decided, but it was again an observation made light-heartedly, as it mattered not to Müller that none of them were particularly spectacular.
Indeed, the most important thing was to have scored three goals and secured three points: "Of course it’s important to get off to a good start, just to take the pressure off a little and gather some momentum", he explained. At that point he had no idea just how much momentum Die Mannschaft would gain.
