Thursday 7 July 2016 20:12, UK
Germany go into their Euro 2016 semi-final with France needing a big performance from Thomas Muller but the team's talisman is struggling for his best form, writes Adam Bate.
Germany have come to rely on their space invader, the poacher from deep whose five goals propelled the team to their World Cup win in Brazil two years ago. Scoring goals is what Thomas Muller does. "He only thinks of scoring, scoring and scoring," said manager Jogi Low. "You can't teach that."
But if you can't teach someone to do it, how do you help them get it back? Five matches into Germany's tournament, Muller is still waiting for his first goal and for the first time, there are questions over his confidence. "The cheek that made him a national star has nearly disappeared," claims German tabloid BZ.
The quarter-final against Italy was one of fine margins. Muller might have been the hero had Alessandro Florenzi not spectacularly cleared his effort from near the goal-line, although replays suggested that even that shot might have been heading wide. Instead, he missed his spot-kick in the subsequent shootout.
The faux-calm didn't convince Gianluigi Buffon. The goalkeeper guessed right and saved a tame effort away to his left. It was Muller's fourth miss from his last seven penalties and the player's loss in confidence appears confirmed by his insistence afterwards that he'll no longer take them for the foreseeable future.
It's not as though there haven't been chances to score - against Northern Ireland, he might have had a hat-trick. Muller has had more shots (14) than any other German player but nine of them have been off target. He's seen six of his team-mates score, but contributed directly to only one of his side's seven goals.
Muller's dip in form can now be seen as part of a longer trend. Dropped by Pep Guardiola for the first leg of Bayern Munich's semi-final against Atletico Madrid, that decision is slowly becoming rather more explicable than it appeared at the time. He found the net in only two of his last nine Bundesliga appearances.
In France, there have been some mitigating circumstances that haven't helped him to rediscover his finest form. Playing in a slightly restrictive right-sided role, there is greater onus on Muller to remain wide and retain the team's shape. "My job is to be available for diagonal balls out wide," he says.
Even so, the statistics are those of an out-of-form player. He has been dispossessed more times than any of his team-mates and is responsible for 16 of Germany's 60 poor touches at this tournament - that's almost twice as many as anyone else. This is not how Muller is supposed to finish off moves.
There will be even greater onus on him against France given Mario Gomez's unavailability due to injury. His running is appreciated and his unpredictable movement remains an asset. But whether Muller is moved to the centre or it's Mario Gotze who deputises in attack, it's his goal power that's needed now.
Perhaps that explains some of the anxiety in his homeland. Germany don't do crises, but the pangs of panic are there. Bild journalist Franz Josef Wagner has even written an open letter to Muller urging him to shrug off the "writer's block" that's afflicted him. "You are an instinctive footballer who creates art," says Wagner.
Christof Kneer of the Suddeutsche Zeitung is similarly concerned. "Normal careers have good times and not-so-good times," writes Kneer. "Muller has hardly known the not-so-good times. Muller has played and, more often than not, Muller has scored his goals ... [But] Muller is not at peace with himself."
Germany need him to find that peace in the frenzied surroundings of the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Thursday evening. Amid the cacophony of noise, Muller must learn to rediscover his calm and remember what he does best. You can't teach that. But maybe you can get it back when it really matters.
