Wolfsburg 31-year-old rookie keeper Marius Müller looks ahead to Leverkusen

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·07 de fevereiro de 2025

Wolfsburg 31-year-old rookie keeper Marius Müller looks ahead to Leverkusen

Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg found themselves hit hard early this week by news that #1 goalkeeper Kamil Grabara would be sidelined for several weeks by a muscle tear. The Polish international served as by far the most consistent member of head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl’s side this season.

In his rookie year in the German top flight, Grabara was generally regarded as one of the best Bundesliga players in his position. In December, Kicker ranked him as the fourth best keeper in the division. The 26-year-old started all 20 league fixtures this season, making countless numbers of memorable saves.

Vídeos OneFootball

Grabara joined Germany’s green company team this past summer as a replacement for long-term keeper Koen Casteels, who also routinely earned accolades and a top spot on the Kicker list. Another long-term player – Pavo Pervan – held the back up slot.

With Pervan unavailable when Grabara succumbed to injury in the league against Frankfurt last Sunday, however, Hasenhüttl had no choice but to give 31-year-old Marius Müller his debut. The former Kaiserslautern, FC Luzern, and FC Schalke 04 man had never featured in the top division before.

It thus finally comes time for the Heppenheim native, signed away from Schalke 04 this summer in a minor transaction that cost the German Wolves only €1.5m. The lower-league veteran faces the unenviable task of starting against Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s high-octane attack on Saturday

Hasenhüttl stressed that Müller had his full backing whilst speaking at a Thursday press conference. After crediting Germany’s red company team as “top squad with hardly any weak points“, Hasenhüttl also took care to note that “any team, even Leverkusen, is beatable“. “We brought him in so that he can help us in precisely these situations,” Hasenhüttl said of Müller. “We have a number two who we can trust immediately. He has to prove that with a big test over the weekend. There’s a lot coming and we won’t be able to defend everything. I wish him the best for this game.”

Kicker Wolfsburg correspondent Thomas Hiete took the time to speak to the player himself in a comprehensive interview for the magazine’s Thursday print edition. Müller spoke on his personal journey. When asked about what it felt like to achieve a dream, Müller could only gush.

“A dream? The dream!” Müller said. “When I think that two years ago, at almost 30, I was sitting [at Luzern] in Switzerland brooding about whether things would ever work out with Germany and even the Bundesliga, then I’m just grateful for this moment. When I think back at all the long hours at the gym and all those balls taken in training, it just makes me happy.”

“It makes me proud,” Müller said of his surprise Bundesliga debut in place of the injured Grabara in last Sunday’s Bundesliga fixture, “As luck would have it, family and friends were in the stadium. My hometown is near Frankfurt after all. It was very special for my father. Now I’ve reached the biggest goal. Time to put it aside and focus on getting my first Bundesliga win.“

“That will be a tough task,” Müller conceded when looking ahead to Leverkusen. “but I’m a fan of tough tasks. Everything that comes after [reaching my goal] is something of a bonus but I’ll continue to invest everything. I’ve worked hard for many years to be able to compete at this level. The quality [of this league] is something else. I want to lead the way and put all my emotions and energy behind it.”

GGFN | Peter Weis