“He always scored. Always!”

That was my Dad’s matter-of-fact response when I pressed him about the greatness of Gerd Muller, 24 hours after Lionel Messi broke the German legend’s 40-year goals record in a calendar year.

Living a stone’s throw from Bayern Munich’s iconic Olympiastadion, Diallo Senior used to attend Bayern Munich’s matches in the 70s – a magical time for German football when the Bavarian club and the national team were the best in Europe and the world.

That era is synonymous with players who found success with both Bayern and the national team like Franz “The Kaiser” Beckenbauer, goalkeeper Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner  and Uli Hoeness.

But for my Dad and Germans of that era it was Gerd Muller who stole the show.

"He always scored"

His goalscoring statistics need little introduction. In an 18-year club career spanning from 1963 to 1981, Muller netted over 650 goals in just over 700 games – an astonishing strike rate which pretty much validates the claims that “he always scored”.

The 1974 World Cup winner’s strike rate for Germany was even more impressive with 68 goals in 62 games – including 14 World Cup goals.

However, that is another one of Gerd Muller’s records that is coming under threat. Current Germany striker Miroslav Klose equalled his 14 World Cup goals in South Africa two years ago and is only one goal away from equalling Muller’s goalscoring 68 goals for Germany.

And that fact shows that records only show one side of a story, especially when Klose has over 60 more caps than Muller.

Records will always be broken. Whether it takes another 40 years or even a century, Lionel Messi’s 88 goals in a calendar year will also be bested.

But whether they hold records or not, Messi and Muller’s achievements will always stand the test of time for the manner of their achievements.

To all his contemporaries and fans of his era, Muller is the greatest finisher the world has ever seen for many reasons. 

"Short and fat"

Firstly, his goals came at the highest level imaginable for both club and country. He was the scorer of important goals such as his winner in the 1974 World Cup final against Johann Cruyff’s Holland and a brace in the Euro 72 final.

For Bayern he also scored in the 1974 and 1975 European Cup finals.

There was also the fact that Der Bomber was not built like the ideal footballer. In fact his first manager at Bayern Munich Zlatko “Cik” Cajkovski was not impressed by his “short, fat, physique”.

But Muller proved him wrong and transcended his physique. His low centre of gravity, peerless movement and a deceptive speed allowed him to constantly be in the right place at the right time as balls came into the box.

And he used any legal means available to get the ball over the goal line. He had a fearsome shot –hence the name Der Bomber - and despite his short stature he was fantastic with his head.  

But it is also the human quality which stands out. After finishing his playing career in the US, he hit a personal and financial low and became dependent on alcohol.

But it shows how much he meant as a person to his old Bayern team-mates that they helped him through rehab and gave him a role at the club as a coach – a job he still carries out to this day.