Two and a half years ago, Eamon Dunphy referred to Bayern Munich and Germany forward Thomas Muller as rubbish.
With the English sides already knocked out of that season’s Champions League, that remark may have escaped many people’s attention as it was made during the semi-final tie between Bayern Munich and Lyon in April 2010.
In fairness to Dunphy, Muller was not hugely impressive over the two legs which took the Bavarian giants into the Champions League final.
But it must be remembered that Muller was only 20-years-old at the time and had already been praised by his namesake Germany legend Gerd Muller named Bundesliga Player of the Month earlier that season – his debut campaign in the Bayern first team after coming through the youth ranks.

Golden boot

And only two months after Dunphy’s criticism, Muller won the Golden Boot at the 2010 World Cup, scoring five times and providing three assists as Germany romped to the semi-finals.
Far from being a useless player, Muller has impressed hugely for club and country since that breakthrough season.
Having scored Bayern’s only goal in May’s Champions League final, the versatile player – a right winger or second striker – has taken the Bundesliga by storm.
As the German league enters its winter break, Bayern are well-placed to wrest the title from Borussia Dortmund, sitting nine points of clear of second-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
And Muller has been central to that scoring nine times in the league and adding three in the Champions League, including this fantastic opener in a 3 – 0 win over Hamburg.
For Bayern, he normally plays just behind the centre-forward in a 4-2-3-1. It is a position which suits his talents down to the bone.
By his own admission, he is not a great dribbler or particularly potent in one-on-one situations. But he has also accurately described himself as an interpreter of space which is more useful in modern football.

Offensive awareness

Muller’s success is built on his movement and offensive awareness, finding pockets of space from which he creates goals or scores for himself.
Under Bayern manager Juup Heynckes he has been afforded much more freedom which has been a major factor in his good form.
During the previous regime of Louis Van Gaal, Muller was stationed on the right flank but in a much more rigid formation.
The 23-year-old also plays on the right for his national team but as England found to their cost in World Cup 2010 and Ireland discovered in October, Germany are extremely flexible.
Muller has become an increasingly influential figure at the Allianz Arena and it is no surprise that he was awarded a contract extension at Bayern until 2017.
The rubbish skip is not the place for a player with his talent.