The most decorated German ever – Thomas Muller

The older generation would immediately bring up the names of Franz Beckenbauer or Gerd Muller. The middle generation would boast about having watched Lothar Matthaus. The somewhat younger ones would point romantically to Michael Ballack, while the youngest, who only remember the last decade or so, would probably say Toni Kroos or maybe Manuel Neuer. Because when it comes to who is the best, there is no universal truth – that’s a matter of subjective opinion. But when it comes to the most decorated, that’s a different story. That’s just arithmetic. And the numbers say – Thomas Muller is the most decorated German footballer, after winning the Canadian championship (in essence, decided through a Cup competition) with the Vancouver Whitecaps, defeating Vancouver FC 4:2 in the final.

Thus Muller, with an assist for the first goal and a strike for the second, lifted the 35th trophy of his career. Now he no longer has to share the title of Germany’s most decorated player with Toni Kroos, his longtime teammate first at Bayern and especially in the national team, who finished at 34.

“I wouldn’t really say I’m the most successful German footballer. I’d rather say I’m good at piling up silverware. Because the question is always: how do you measure the weight of each of these trophies? Some win more league titles, some more Champions Leagues,” Muller told Bild with humility.

Of course, he was speaking about Kroos. The recently retired Real Madrid ace lifted the Champions League trophy six times (once with Bayern, the rest with Los Blancos), while Muller has raised that trophy only twice. But in the Bundesliga, Bayern faced little competition. In the national team jersey, the two won the 2014 World Cup together. And Kroos and Muller won’t be arguing about who is better.

“Statistics are a nice thing, but nothing more, nothing less. I don’t play football to leave behind a trophy legacy; I play because I enjoy being on the pitch” Kroos said. He will have more chances for silverware, as his contract with Vancouver runs until the end of 2026, and the Whitecaps hope to make a deep run in the MLS playoffs. Perhaps even lift another trophy and qualify for the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 2

Thursday

19.45: (2.00) Bologna (3.50) Freiburg (4.10)

19.45: (2.05) Brann (3.45) Utrecht (3.60)

19.45: (1.88) Celtic (3.85) Braga (4.15)

19.45: (2.70) FCSB (3.35) Young Boys (2.65)

19.45: (1.80) Fenerbahce (3.70) Nice (5.00)

19.45: (4.60) Ludogorets (3.70) Betis (1.77)

19.45: (1.60) Panathinaikos (4.25) Go Ahead (5.25)

19.45: (1.90) Plzen (3.70) Malmo (4.30)

19.45: (1.72) Roma (4.00) Lille (5.05)

22.00: (3.75) Basel (3.80) Stuttgart (1.92)

22.00: (1.80) Celta (3.70) PAOK (5.00)

22.00: (3.20) Feyenoord (3.50) Aston Villa (2.35)

22.00: (1.77) Genk (4.00) Ferencvaros (4.25)

22.00: (2.80) Maccabi T.A. (3.50) Dinamo Zagreb (2.60)

22.00: (1.48) Nott.Forest (4.75) Midtjylland (6.30)

22.00: (1.62) Olympique Lyon (4.10) Salzburg (5.25)

22.00: (1.55) Porto (4.50) Crvena Zvezda (7.00)

22.00: (2.10) Sturm (3.70) Rangers (3.60)

* odds are subject to change