Thomas Muller is one of the world's most effective goal scorers and that comes from his ability to find space.
Muller calls himself a 'Ramdeuter', which is best translated as 'space investigator.' A Ramdeuter will take up space out wide and then burst through the defensive line for a cross and is difficult for defenders to pick up.
"I’ve played all over the pitch in my career – as an attacking midfielder, on both wings, as a center forward, as a second forward and in midfield," said Muller. "I enjoy all those positions and I think I’ve been effective in all of them to some degree. Ultimately, it’s not for me to say where I’m the most effective, that is something for a manager to decide. Playing lots of positions helps your all-round game and that benefits you when you switch around. I like being versatile. For me, the key thing on a football pitch is to find space and it has become what I’m on the pitch to do. I’m lucky now that I’m often allowed quite a lot of freedom to drop deep or go wide and find areas to be effective in."
Muller was asked how it feels to have a concept invented for his game.
"It feels good I guess! It goes back to that concept of space. It means someone who is always looking for an area to have the ball with some freedom and space to do damage in. What is difficult for opposition defenders? They don’t like it when they can’t predict your pathways or runs, when they can’t work out how you are going to score a goal, how to stop you. But it’s not just about space – it’s about scoring the goal when you find the opportunity too. I’m happy that I’m getting the ball and scoring for Germany and for Bayern Munich."