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Maik Franz can still remember Thomas Müller’s “life-saving” drink in 2009.
“I still have that in mind. I was on the center line. I drift, he jumps, I don’t hit him and the referee whistles a free kick,” said the Eintracht Frankfurt defender at the time. SPORT1.
With a smile, the 38-year-old adds: “I told him my point of view, as you can see from the images, perhaps in a stronger tone.”
“In fact, it was a swallow, but not intentional. It was actually a lifesaver,” Müller said ten and a half years after this scene in Bayern’s 2-1 victory against SBU. DAZN admitted
He was sure that “he was going to explode now,” said Müller, and praised the opponent at the time: “When I was very young, I had a lot of respect for Maik Franz.”
Franz: “I have the greatest respect for Thomas Müller’s path”
Franz, to whom Müller’s praise was sent “relatively frequently”, is satisfied. “When a world-class player like Thomas simply says after so many years that he respected the way I play, you like to hear it.”
The former defender, nicknamed “Iron Maik” by fans during his time at Karlsruher SC, is sure Müller had “even tougher opponents” than him. “But if I’m stuck with him, that’s not a bad thing.”
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Franz would like to return words of praise: “I have the highest respect for Thomas Müller’s path. What he has accomplished, how he has always prevailed, has become a world-class player, I find impressive.”
Franz also emphasizes: “This authenticity, that’s great. One of the few types, not ironed as smoothly as many others.”
“Marcelinho was one of the most uncomfortable opponents”
Born in Merseburg, meanwhile head of the licensed players department for third division club 1. FC Magdeburg, he is happy that he is not Müller’s favorite player. “When an offensive player says you were the favorite, you did something wrong as a defender.”
Even “Iron Maik” itself had tough chunks as opponents. “It was the strikers who were totally uncomfortable,” he recalls. Example: Giovane Elber. “I only knew him on television, it was always the funny Giovane, he was swindled on the pitch. The forward Elber / Pizarro duo was really cheeky.”
Attackers Edin Dzeko (Franz: “Playing against him was no fun”) and Jan Koller (“If you stood behind him, you thought the lights went out”). They also fell into this category.
And another account: “Marcelinho was one of the most unpleasant opponents”, recalls Franz: “Very agile, very lively, technically very good, he really knotted my legs”.
