Sometimes still too risky
Under the new coach Florian Kohfeldt, Müller was even in the starting line-up in every game. Kohfeldt greatly appreciates Müller, who initially trained at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and was later retired, and sees him as a possible future leader in the Lilien midfield – alongside Kai Klefisch and the currently injured Paul Will.
In the central defensive midfield, Müller has to run a lot, fight numerous duels and constantly get involved in the build-up game. Not everything worked out in the end, as Kohfeldt also complained. “He has had two or three games in the last few weeks in which he played one or two balls that were a bit too risky for me in the middle,” says Kohfeldt. “He has to be aware of his role.”
Against Hertha, Kohfeldt didn’t notice a passing error from Müller. In addition, like the entire team, he defended much more aggressively and better from the middle of the first half. Müller was rewarded with the goal; he, like the entire team, continued to develop positively.
Why Müller needs to work on his error culture
“I’m happy that I have such a strong player in the center who always wants to have the ball and who is extremely self-critical,” says the Lilien coach. Self-criticism is a topic that he is still working on with Müller. Because the player is “almost an over-perfectionist”.
Example: If crossbar shooting is on the agenda in training, Müller can shoot 20 balls onto the crossbar, but if he shoots the 21st over the goal, he will be angry and the whole day will be over for him. “He still has to learn a bit about his own culture of mistakes. But he can manage it too.”
The passionate tennis player Kohfeldt cites a great of the sport as a role model for Müller: Roger Federer. He scored just 51.4 percent of his points in his successful career. “That means he had to learn every second ball: It’s over, next ball.” He tells every one of his players these statistics. “We footballers have been annoyed for far too long about situations that are already gone,” he says. Rather, the attitude must be: “It’s over, move on, next situation.”
