In Memoriam: Lucien Müller – La Galerna

Actual Madrid’s engine room at the start of the 60s wanted to be renovated after the retirements of Miguel Muñoz and Zárraga, and the departure of Santisteban. Bernabéu appeared once more on the Stade de Reims to signal the Frenchman Lucien Müller, a participant very a lot appreciated by Alfredo di Stéfano. In France he was generally known as ‘Le petit Kopa’, whereas in Spain he started to be affectionately referred to as Don Luciano.

Born on September 3, 1934 in Bischwiller (Alsace area), he was the son of Germans. Müller was an inside and midfielder of monumental high quality, clairvoyance for passing and particular person approach. One other attribute is that it held the leather-based very nicely and barely misplaced balls. The French journalist Jean-Philippe Rethacker outlined him like this: “A peaceful, sober, clever, and really expert sport organizer, he adapts completely to the place of attacking midfielder.” His beginnings have been at FC Bischwiller in his hometown as a youth. His first skilled step occurred at Strasbourg, the place he performed 4 years and later performed two seasons at Toulouse. In ‘Les Violets’ he caught the eye of the nice French coach Albert Batteux who recruited him for the Stade de Reims in 1959. There he would coincide with Kopa’s return to the French staff and each of them, along with Fontaine, Piantoni and Vincent, would kind one of the distinctive European forwards of the time for 3 seasons and successful two League titles and a Tremendous Cup. Müller did his half within the well-known champagne soccer that Batteux imposed on a staff that embellished soccer with its cheerful and spectacular model, filled with passes, mixtures and dribbles.

In December 1961, the Spanish staff confronted France on the Colombes stadium. The match led to a 1-1 draw and Di Stéfano laid the primary stone for Müller’s arrival in Madrid a couple of months later. ‘La Saeta Rubia’, in love together with his model, satisfied him to play for the white membership and Santiago Bernabéu marked his identify in pink for the 1962 switch interval, during which Amancio and Zoco, amongst others, would additionally arrive.

The negotiations have been very fast and got here to a profitable conclusion after Actual Madrid paid forty million francs to the Stade de Reims. The board of administrators issued a notice confirming the settlement: “As we speak, after a sequence of conversations between Actual Madrid and the Stade de Reims, it was agreed that the participant Lucien Müller will play subsequent season with the Spanish staff.” All the pieces was closed in Liege in a gathering between Raimundo Saporta and the president of the French staff M. Henri Germain.

The contract signed by Müller was for 3 seasons and in his first statements to a media outlet in his nation he stated that “it was an sudden blow, actually. If taking part in on the Stade de Reims is the very best ambition of all French footballers, doing so at Actual Madrid is the fixed dream of everybody on the earth.”

He additionally referred to Di Stéfano: “Everyone knows that nobody has understood or practiced collective soccer like Alfredo. There was nobody like him. He has scored targets with each ft and together with his head for tons of and has made it attainable for his teammates to attain as many. Moreover, attributable to his omnipresence, he has additionally prevented many targets at his personal objective.” He additionally confirmed that he had spoken with Kopa, a former Madrid participant: “Raymond instructed me that technically I will be on par with the Madrid gamers, however that I’ll undoubtedly accuse the velocity and toughness of Spanish soccer.” Requested about his contract, he stated that “it is so good that I want to not speak about it. I am very pleased.” Lastly, relating to the place during which he might play, he said that “I do not know what they’ll play for me, however it does not fear me. I feel I’ll play within the middle of the sphere, both as a midfielder or as an inside participant. Wherever I play, I’ll do my greatest to succeed. For me, it’s the gamers who play, who resolve, and never the programs defended by the varied personalities. I feel the participant is forgotten an excessive amount of, which is why he loses efficiency and even high quality.”

Müller performed his first sport in white, like Amancio and Zoco, in a preseason match in Ghana. Actual Madrid traveled to Accra in August 1962 and there they confronted the Ghana Black Stars on the Nationwide Stadium. The match would finish in a tie at three and it could be the primary time in a match that the oldest members of the Madrid staff nonetheless keep in mind: Müller-Zoco. Miguel Muñoz was in love with the Frenchman’s sport and was an indeniable member of his eleven, although he was all the time labeled as a considerably sluggish, phlegmatic and chilly participant.

In his first marketing campaign he shared extra minutes within the center with Pachín attributable to Zoco’s youth. Müller offered readability within the distribution of the sport and the Navarrese was the lung of the midfield. The French footballer carried out at a superb stage and hardly had bodily issues, which is why he performed 26 of the 30 league video games. His first official objective with the white jacket was on matchday 5 on the Santiago Bernabéu towards Elche. That is how Jesús Fragoso described it in Marca: “Puskas returns the ball to Müller, Müller, together with his left foot and from the middle, shoots and hits Villar.” The merengue staff gained the League with monumental readability forward of Atleti and thus recovered from their early and stunning elimination within the first spherical of the European Cup towards Anderlecht. Within the Cup, which Müller couldn’t compete in as a result of he was a foreigner, Actual Zaragoza eradicated the Madridistas within the semi-finals.

In Müller’s second season, the French duo was already put in with Zoco within the center after Pachín was moved to protection. The midfield grew in high quality with out dropping an iota of solidity. His nice capability to prepare the sport was elementary in Muñoz’s concept that he thought-about him a reference for the white eleven. Moreover, the regularity and bodily tone that warded off accidents allowed him to play each week with out issues. He made 25 league appearances, though this season he didn’t rating within the League, however he did rating within the European Cup towards Zürich. The white staff had extra resistance from Barça, however they lifted the title once more. In Europe they got here near the double by dropping the ultimate towards Inter in Vienna. That night time noticed an enormous battle within the midfield between Müller and Zoco towards Tagnin and Suárez who fell on the Nerazzurri facet. It was the nice alternative that the French participant needed to have gained the European Cup.

His final season on the White Home was within the 1964-65 season. The pairing he made with Zoco was complemented by the Navarrese in additional defensive roles and the Frenchman channeling the sport and demonstrating imaginative and prescient, passing and approach. Actual Madrid dominated the League at will and achieved its third consecutive victory. It was a staff with nice consistency, with a strong protection, a balanced and imaginative midfield and a ahead that mixed youth with Pirri, Grosso and Amancio and expertise with Puskas and Gento. Di Stéfano’s traumatic departure in the summertime was not overly noticeable on the offensive finish. Müller appeared in 26 of the 30 video games and once more had zero on his objective counter. The rival for the trophy was Atlético de Madrid, which was 4 factors behind its everlasting adversary. Within the European Cup, as in 1962, the ogre was Eusebio’s Benfica, which knocked the whites out of the competitors within the semi-finals.

Within the final months of his contract, within the spring of 1965, Müller introduced that “I wish to keep in Madrid.” Nonetheless, if he didn’t renew the contract, he stated that he would “prefer to proceed in Spain in a well-known staff.” There have been already rumors of curiosity from FC Barcelona and RCD Español, and some days later the Belgian staff Normal de Liege joined. In April, in an interview for the newspaper Pueblo, he said that “Actual Madrid needs me to remain, and so do I,” however the financial side was necessary as a result of “within the present financial situations it’s inconceivable. I’m the most cost effective overseas participant the membership has.” A month later it was confirmed that Puskas, Santamaría and Gento would proceed with the white staff however the monetary subject with Müller remained at an deadlock. Ultimately it was the important thing part to not proceed within the capital. The Frenchman had requested for an quantity higher than eight million for the three years that his new contract would cowl, whereas the white membership provided him a million pesetas per season, plus wage and bonuses, and Müller didn’t settle for. The midfielder was already in negotiations with Barça that may meet his monetary wants and he would find yourself taking the airlift to Barcelona. That is how his white interval closed after three campaigns, 92 official matches and three targets. He added three League titles to his report in French soccer.

He additionally spent three seasons with the Catalan staff with a report of 125 video games, 5 targets and two titles: a Gala’s Cup and a Cup. On the age of 34 and on the finish of his sporting profession, he determined to return to Stade Reims to finish his final two seasons as knowledgeable till retiring in 1970. Within the French staff he was worldwide on 16 events, scored three targets and was included within the squad for 2 main tournaments, Euro’60 which was held in his nation and the World Cup. 1966 primarily based in England.

After hanging up his boots, he made the leap to the bench, being a coach with a protracted profession and staff roster. Most of his time coaching was in Spain, with the primary locations being Castellón, Burgos in two phases and Actual Zaragoza. On the finish of the 70s he returned to Barça as a coach, though he didn’t end the 1978-79 season, after which he lived a 3rd interval at Burgos. The one alternative to coach in his nation’s soccer was at Monaco between 1983 and 1986. Later, he returned to Spain to sit down on the bench at Mallorca and his profession ended within the place the place it started, Castellón. His best successes have been three promotions to First Division with Castellón, Burgos and Mallorca and a French Tremendous Cup with Monaco in 1985.

In an interview within the Nineteen Nineties, already retired from all actions, he said that “the three best gamers have been Pelé, Di Stéfano and Puskas.” Relating to his model, he defined that “my fundamental high quality was that I by no means misplaced the ball, with out this high quality I might not have been in a position to play for Actual Madrid.” He additionally advocated that the gamers of his time “can be the identical gamers at present”, in relation to the individuals who thought they may not play sooner and extra bodily soccer. Lastly, relating to the comparability of kinds, he thought that soccer had “gotten worse, there are now not nice groups from the previous, nor so many nice gamers. You do not see nice video games. As we speak, there’s virtually no play, passes are made, a objective or a play is highlighted with ineffective passes, lateral passes, again passes. Earlier than, in three passes, we arrived in entrance of the objective.”

He was an individual admired in varied components of Spain and extra forgotten in France who, over time, established his place of residence in Reims. There he died on January 20 on the age of 91.

Images: Alberto Cosín archive