Thomas Müller - Der Raumdeuter
It came as a surprise to me, when I first looked at Van Gaal’s Ajax from the perspective of recreating that team, that probably the toughest player to emulate would be Jari Litmanen. Historically, number ten position is filled with talent, there are tons of players with different styles and skill set to choose from - but with the d.o.b. restriction it’s actually almost impossible to find a suitable replacement for him.
I thought long and hard about this, but in the end, I singled out the qualities that made him irreplaceable in that team and chose the player who ticked most of the boxes. The comparison between them isn’t something new, actually - here’s a quote from the brilliant article about Van Gaal’s career in The Telegraph: «It is tempting to wonder whether van Gaal saw in Muller a little of his old Ajax playmaker Jari Litmanen. “It's no secret that Louis van Gaal and I have a relationship that goes a little beyond the normal relationship between coaches and players,” Muller said, presumably as his team-mates attempted to suppress a snigger». From the first glance, they are not similar at all - easy on the eye Litmanen, with exquisite first touch and shooting technique and outwardly clumsy Thomas Müller, but if we want to understand the real connection between them, we have to look deeper.
Litmanen was bought as a successor to the brilliant Dennis Bergkamp, one of the best technicians in the history of the game, who moved to Inter Milan a season later. However brilliant on the ball Litmanen was, he wasn’t as good as Dennis, it’s hard to imagine someone that were. But a few seasons later, Frank Rijkaard famously said: "Dennis Bergkamp was brilliant for Ajax, but the best No 10 we have ever had was Jari." What qualities made him the player worthy of those words? Spatial awareness, impecable understanding of the game and an outstanding work rate. Sound familiar?
Litmanen was the personification of Van Gaal’s perfect number ten. It’s not a coincidence that it was Van Gaal, who spotted Thomas Müller’s potential and made the 20-year old a starter in one of the best sides in Europe. Müller may appear rather clumsy and unsightly, but you’ll be amazed by what you see when you look closer. His movement off the ball is, probably, the best in the world at the moment. He can drop back to midfield or make a run into the box to create a numerical advantage; he is now one of the brightest stars in Bayern and German national team, having won almost every trophy that was available to him (and he may won the last one in a few months); he is on set to overtake Klose’s record and to become the All-time World Cup top scorer… all because Van Gaal saw the reminiscence of Litmanen in him. A great summary of his game was published in The Guardian: «In other words, Müller can’t beat you with his close ball control, he can’t beat you with his pace, and he can’t beat you with his dribbling skills. He just beats you».
Here’s an absolutely brilliant video with the analysis of Müller’s game:
