Müller, Gerd (Gerhard Müller) [key], 1945–, West German soccer player, nicknamed “Der Bomber,” b. Nordlingen. After playing with the TSV 1861 Nordlingen youth team and scoring 180 goals in the 1962–63 season, he made his senior league debut with them in 1963, moving to FC Bayern Munich in 1964. One of the highest scorers the game has known, the powerful, short, and stocky striker scored 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and 68 goals in 62 international games. With Müller, FC Bayern was promoted (1965) to the Bundesliga, West Germany's highest-level soccer league, and won the league title four times and the European championship three times. His calendar-year record of 85 goals (1972) stood until Lionel Messi broke it in 2012. After retiring from FC Bayern in 1978, he played (1979–80) with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the North American Soccer League.
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