‘Get something bigger’

Thomas Muller has really only made one glaring mistake since he signed with the Vancouver Whitecaps this summer. It came on Aug. 24, when the German legend was asked about the play of teammate Tristan Blackmon, then in fine form. 

Muller sang his praises.

“During the international break we will miss some players,” Muller said in a news conference. “Tristan has been called up for the USA.”

He immediately backtracked with that cheeky smile. Sure, Blackmon had been called up. But Mauricio Pochettino had not yet publicly released his September camp roster. No one was supposed to know that yet. 

“If he plays well today. Ah, the game is over. In the end, it is what it is – I heard what I heard. Congratulations to Tristan and congratulations to the USA,” Muller said. 

It was one of those classic sort of Muller moments: a bit cheeky, very funny, yet entirely sincere. You could hear it in his voice. He may have, in effect, messed up, but he was delighted for his teammate. And that was always going to translate to MLS from Bayern Munich.

Muller is a funny guy who says funny things. He is a bit of a dork, in the best way. Americans might call him a “knucklehead.” What was less clear, though, was just how effective he would be as a footballer.

MLS has a mixed relationship with aging European stars. Some are excellent, their brains carrying them through games to a level well above everyone else. Others are less effective, struggling in a league that is far more athletic than perhaps they were used to.

Muller is the former, and then some. There was a sense, when he arrived, that Vancouver needed a lift on the pitch – not just a smile at full time. And in Muller, they have it, their new superstar finding his footing in North American soccer in wonderful fashion.