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A small duration of 90 minutes is what separated Lionel Messi from joining the pantheon of greats such as Pele and Maradona. However, the crowning moment of his career was snatched away from him when Mario Goetze netted a stunner in the 113th minute to help Germany lift the coveted trophy for the fourth time. Whilst the 21st century footballing era has seen Messi and Ronaldo with daggers drawn against each other as to who the greatest is, it is the 24-year-old German forward Thomas Muller who breaks the stronghold when it comes to international performances.
Although the young ebullient Bayern Munich player has a relatively less impressive stats in his club career, Muller has manifested splendid proficiency with the ball when on international duty. As the 2014 World Cup final created a stir between the Muller and Messi, I would like to point out certain facts and figures which gives the German a plausible upper-hand over the Barcelona star.
World Cups
Whilst both made their international debuts at a very tender age of 20 and 18 respectively, the German forward did not take much time to establish his goal-scoring prowess. Muller was selected in the 23-man squad for the 2010 World Cup and that is where he divulged his killer instincts. The stunning strike against Australia in the opening game set the tone for the rest of the tournament as he further went on to add four more to that tally and ended up as the tournament's best scorer.
On the other hand, one of the major criticisms faced by Messi was pertaining to his sub-par performances against formidable teams with Argentina. Although he made a handful of appearances in his debut World Cup in 2006, which also saw him grabbing his first ever goal in the finals, it was in 2010 where the Argentine was in the limelight like never before. After winning a historic treble with Barcelona a year earlier, there was a huge hype surrounding the Barcelona talisman to make the World Cup his own.
However, the performances said otherwise. Throughout the tournament, his performances were highly underwhelming and not up to the mark. And he ended his campaign ironically to Muller's Germany in a 4-0 demolition in the quarter-final with 0 goals and 0 assists to his name in the entire competition. The fact that he could not find the net even once despite having 13 shots on goal proved his lack of clinical finishing.
Travelling forward four years in time in Brazil, both were fairly instrumental in their team’s success. To the delight of all his fans, Messi was able to finally break the jinx and find the net after eight long years. All four of his strikes in the competition came only in the group games and he experienced a dip in form once again during the crucial elimination stages. The 27-year-old was effectively boxed up for most of those matches and undermined his chances. The winning assist against the Swiss in Round of 16 was the only silver lining in an otherwise mediocre campaign.
Having managed just 3 shots on target in over 7 hours of play was highly disappointing and something which one does not expect from a player of his calibre. But contrastingly, his German counterpart lived up to his reputation yet again, racking-up 5 goals and 3 assists in as many appearances as Messi.
Advantage: Muller
Continental Championships
Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine was the first and the only European competition Thomas Muller has participated in. Although he was an integral part of his team, he failed to emulate his World Cup success and exited with neither a goal nor an assist.
By contrast, Messi has done a tad better in the two Copa America tournaments with Argentina. Although the 2011 edition on home turf was anything but memorable as he endured a torrid campaign, individually (0 goals and 0 assists), the 2007 edition was a better outing for Lionel Messi as he netted crucial goals in the quarter-final and semi-final and created chances for his team-mates. Unfortunately, the Albiceleste fell only in the final hurdle to Brazil.
Advantage: Messi
Individual Honours
Thomas Muller: Golden Boot (2010 World Cup), Best Young Player (2010 World Cup), Silver Boot (2014 World Cup), Silver Ball (2014 World Cup)
Lionel Messi: Best Young Player (2007 Copa America), Golden Ball (2014 World Cup)
Advantage: Muller
Although there are instances where Messi has proved his detractors wrong by some scintillating displays with the Albiceleste (notably his hat-trick against Brazil), the common factor in all of them was that they've come either in friendlies or qualifiers. He has failed several times to conjure his magic which he usually does for the Blaugrana in La Liga or Champions League. His 7 goal haul in 5 major competitions fall very short in comparison to Muller's 10 in just 3. These intriguing statistics clearly indicate why Muller has the edge above Messi on the international stage.
