The first Bundesliga point in Heidenheim’s history is closely related to keeper Kevin Müller: The 32-year-old kept the promoted team in the game several times in the 2-2 win in Dortmund.
Prevented an even bigger deficit several times in Dortmund: FCH goalkeeper Kevin Müller. IMAGO/Passion2Press
Defending, the closed, the passionate, has been firmly anchored in the DNA of the 57th club in the history of the Bundesliga for years. What has also been part of the image of the Ostalb club for years: Kevin Müller is between his posts. In the summer of 2015, the FCH from Cottbus took him as number 2 behind Jan Zimmermann. A season later, when the latter moved to 1860, he was added as a first-choice keeper, a status he has held unchallenged for seven years. Without going too deep into the archive, a feature of the Müller era in Heidenheim is also due to the style of play, few goals conceded and many clean sheets. Just look at the past season: Müller played all 34 games, with a total of 36 goals conceded, he left the field 15 times with a clean sheet – the best value in league 2.
It was somehow obvious that it would be difficult for Müller and FCH to keep up this pace after promotion to the Bundesliga. New league, different, more demanding world. And entering this was promptly bumpy for Müller. The Bundesliga premiere in Wolfsburg for FCH was only a few minutes old when Müller, otherwise actually the personification of reliability, made a lapse and the ball was already in his goal. In the end it was 0:2.
And even if Müller shot clean in the next game at home against Hoffenheim (2:3), it was extremely unfortunate – for him and for the team. What little he had to do against TSG up to the 76th minute, he did superbly, only to end up having to get the ball out of the net three times. He was powerless in all three goals conceded, but when a keeper has been more or less unemployed for most of the game, three goals conceded become even more of a bitter house number for him. Above all, because it was an unfamiliar one, because it was rare up to now. In the Bundesliga, the Rostock-born player has conceded 2.3 goals per game, a value that he is not familiar with. Just for comparison: last season he had to get behind him an average of 1.05 times per game.
Müller kept Heidenheim in the running at BVB
Sure, that can be explained by the Bundesliga, which poses a huge challenge for FCH, which is small compared to the competition. But not an unsolvable one, as he proved last Friday with the surprising 2: 2 in the league size BVB. A point, the value of which increases with a view to the upcoming tasks because coach Frank Schmidt’s team was 0:2 behind after 15 minutes. The fact that she was able to come back in the second half and was even close to victory in the end also had a lot to do with Müller. After the break, he saved the FCH several times from a possible 0:3 with fast-reacting foot defenses and thus laid the foundation for turning the game around. Or, to see it from the keeper’s point of view: The last 75 minutes at BVB went as usual for him. Needless to say, it can go on like this.
2023-09-04 13:53:57
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