Thomas Muller played his last Bundesliga game on Saturday as Bayern cruised to 4-0 win against Hoffenheim. It was an emotional moment for the German forward and the Bavarian faithful as he was probably the last academy player to stay so long at Bayern.
The famous number 25 leaves his boyhood club after 17 years in the Bundesliga, having amassed 150 goals and 178 assists. Der Raumdeuter leaves Bayern Munich a legend, winning two Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, two Club World Cups, 6 DFB Pokals, 13 Bundesliga Meisterchale (which makes him the player with the most in history), and a World Cup with Germany. He is a man that every football fan admired and a man that every Bayern Munich fan will miss dearly.
Who Will Step Into These Massive Shoes?
There will never be another Thomas Muller; the mind of a great footballer is not learned, it is bred. The vision that this Deutsch architect of the football had was second to none, and it will be a hard task to replace the type of player that he is. Luckily, there is a young man who has all the abilities in the world and has been blessed with vision and prowess that will make him a great player, similar to what Muller was able to do for Bayern. The name of this young man is none other than Jamal Musiala, who has already shown that he is pivotal to Bayern Munich's success going forward.
Musiala's style of play is quite similar to the way Muller's was at the height of his career: slower in terms of pace but electric and smooth in terms of vision and ball control or placement. The way that Musiala can dribble past defenders with effortlessness and his capability to make the right decision in vital moments--paired with his unselfish mentality--make him a great option going forward for Bayern to play in that "false 9" role that Thomas Muller made a killing his entire career out of.
Another option in this case would be Florian Wirtz, a young player who Bayern Munich is very much hunting down to become their next superstar. He is another playmaker that you could say could be very similar to how Muller was in the early stages of his career. He has a bit more pace than Muller and Musiala do, but his incredible vision and touch on the ball make him a candidate to fill that role nevertheless.
If Die Rekordmeister were able to sign Wirtz, he may be the man to take the position of false 9 and stretch Musiala into more of a midfield role. The alternative could be that Bayern Munich see Musiala as more of a Thomas Muller kind of frontman, and they could push Wirtz out to the wing and use his blistering pace to get in behind the defense as Michael Olise does on the opposite side. Either way, these two youngsters could keep the legacy of Der Raumdeuter alive.