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Gerd Müller: Bigger than Life. Story of a Football Genius

Hans Woller

They called him the eight wonder of the world – Gerd Müller, the footballer whose goal scoring record remains unchallenged to this day. Who was this man, who rose from provincial football and poverty to world stardom, became rich and, after an excursion to the – in football terms – ‘developing country’ USA, ended up a ruined alcoholic?

Historian Hans Woller tells the story of this exceptional career – with critical distance and yet with warmth and empathy. The history of the FC Bayern München underpins the narrative; in the 1960s and 70s, Müller’s club established itself at the top of European football despite its precarious proximity to financial ruin. How was bankruptcy averted? What was the dubious role played by the federal state government of Bavaria and the conservative CSU party? How did the club’s superstars Müller and Beckenbauer profit from these machinations? Woller’s book answers these questions with unprecedented and thrilling detail; here, football history becomes significant as the history of the present.

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Published by C.H.Beck , ISBN: 9783406741517

Main content page count: 336 Pages

ISBN: 9783406741517