Rising star

It's proving to be quite a year for Thomas Mueller. The 20-year old only came into the Bayern Munich first team last August but by the time that month comes round again, Mueller will have won his first Bundesliga title, possibly adding German Cup and Champions League winners medals to his embryonic collection – and is likely to have featured at the World Cup in South Africa for Germany.

The kid from Weilheim could be forgiven for pinching himself to make sure the last 12 months haven't been some kind of soap opera dream sequence. Instead of coming to in a shower with vague recollections of imagined glory, the Bayern youngster faces the reality of playing on two of the game's biggest stages in the next two months.

Mueller only signed his first professional contract just over a year ago after joining Bayern's youth ranks as a ten year-old and spending the last two years starring for the reserve team. In two weeks time - barring injury, of course - he will run out onto the pitch at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid to contest the European Cup. Two weeks after that, he can expect to be donning a Germany shirt in South Africa.

Class and consistency forces youngster into Loew's plans

Having only made his Germany debut against Argentina in March, Mueller's rapid ascent to the provisional Germany squad for the World Cup is a testament to the player's obvious class and consistency. He has appeared in 49 matches this season for the Bayern first team, having missed only one due to suspension, and has hit 19 goals – including the hat-trick last weekend which effectively sealed Bayern's title win. Factor in the 14 assists he is credited with and Mueller is top of Bayern's rankings in scorer points.

His attacking prowess - both as goal-getter and as provider - could be key in Joachim Loew's strategy for the World Cup. Loew is building a team for the future by giving stars like Mueller the chance to shine in the present alongside established stars. But while old heads may be able to give Mueller advice and provide the calm assurance needed to endure a stressful World Cup, it will be Mueller and his fellow fledglings who will be charged with providing the Germany team with its killer instinct.

Germany ready to exploit Mueller's versatility

Mueller has effectively made himself a man who can't be left behind through another talent: his versatility. Bayern coach Louis van Gaal has utilized his attributes on the left, right and centre of midfield, and he has even played as a lone striker.

With Germany facing a range of different team styles and environments in South Africa, Joachim Loew will have a number of strategies in mind for dealing with them all – and he will need intelligent players who can fit and play into changing systems. Mueller has proved he is up to that job.

The Bayern star, alongside Werder Bremen's Mesut Oezil, will also be charged with breathing life into a Germany team which has shown worrying signs of leadenness at times in recent games. A number of aging legs may be put out to pasture after this tournament, as one squad cycle ends and another begins, and Mueller will no doubt be one of the bedrocks on which this new Germany team will be built.

While Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery have taken the majority of the bold type headlines this season - be it for crunch time heroics or off-the-field foibles - Mueller has quietly proved that he is nearly as important an offensive spark and is no slouch when it come to covering the pitch. He has consistently been one of Bayern's hardest workers this season, showing an indefatigable energy in his support of team mates.

Mueller's return to form ideally timed for club and country

Of course, he is still a young man and one which is coming to the end of only his first full Bundesliga season and so the dip he experienced in both form and energy in late January and February should and must be excused. What should be championed, though, is the way he recovered to find both again at the business end of the season to help Bayern come to within tantalizingly close proximity of an unprecedented treble.

With many older players wondering where the fuel will come from to fill their tanks in the demanding atmosphere of a World Cup, Thomas Mueller has already made his pit stop and is back running at full throttle. Germany can only be thankful that players of his quality are continuing to come through the ranks, and Joachim Loew will undoubtedly be thrilled that Thomas Mueller broke through in time to go to the World Cup.

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Matt Hermann