When asked which facet of the game Thomas Müller particularly excels in, the answer is not clear.
Of course, Müller boasts impressive ability across the pitch but nothing particularly stands out in the same way you may consider Haaland’s shooting, Trent’s crossing or even Ward-Prowse’s free kick ability.
The answer is an obscure one, but in fact Müller’s strongest ability lies within the mental side of the game – his spacial intelligence.
Throughout his career, Müller has consistently been able to both find and exploit space left by his opposition, and wreak havoc in the opposition box by finding himself unmarked in key moments.
It is an unquantifiable skill, and one that can prove integral to a side when an elite player harnesses the ability to truly take full advantage of it.
And nobody does it like Thomas Müller.
In fact, he is so good at it that his unique skillset birthed a new tactical role -the raumdeuter.
It is rare, but not unheard of, for a player to perform so well at a particular aspect of the game that they create a new role – take the Makélélé role for instance.
As Makélélé’s full-frontal, battling style became apparent, it was clear that he could not be boxed into the traditional ‘holding-midfielder’ term and as such the Makélélé role was born.
The Origin of the Term – Raumdeuter
Of course, there are players who showcased similar traits to Müller in their careers – for instance José Callejón’s role in Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli side has often been considered to be a variation of the raumdeuter role.
However, Müller himself is the one who coined the phrase.
As previously alluded to, Müller is not the kind of player who stands out in the parts of the game which are clear to the human eye – such as speed, strength or dribbling.
This prompted a journalist to pose the player with a question: ”Was macht Sie zu speziell oder besonders?” (What makes you special?).
Müller’s response would go on to become hugely tactically influential: ”Ich bin ein Raumdeuter.” (I am a space interpreter).
Müller’s Emergence
Despite not debuting under him, Müller’s step-up into full-time first team football came under Louis Van Gaal.
It is unsurprising that Van Gaal took such a liking to the German, due to his long lasting love affair with players with similar attributes to Müller’s – particularly those that took up the ‘number ten’ position.
Alongside this, Van Gaal had a strong reputation upon reliance on youth and promoting through the academy – something that played into Müller’s hands perfectly.
Müller entered the 2009/10 season expecting to be loaned out by the Bavarian giants, however the arrival of Van Gaal had a huge effect on his career.
In fact, Müller credits Van Gaal as being the individual with the largest effect upon his rise to top level football.
That season, Müller was crowned as the league’s best newcomer, as well as being named in the team of the season.
It was clear that Müller was an outstanding talent, however the reason for this was not obvious to the casual observer – but Van Gaal saw deeper than that and recognised Müller’s mental talent.
Van Gaal gave Müller the tactical freedom to operate in a role that exemplified his skillset, and reaped its benefits.
So what actually is a Raumdeuter?
A raumdeuter is a player whose deepest strength lies within their mind – through spacial and tactical intelligence.
They do not have a set position, instead the player is given freedom of movement, in order to allow them to find and exploit space to its fullest extent.
They thrive in the space that has been, or will be, left by the defensive line. Anticipating where space will open up and arriving there at the correct time through deception and intelligent movement.
Naturally, the raumdeuter is not expected to play a major role in build-up, rather, their job is to position themselves effectively for when the build-up will reach its climax – with a goal scoring opportunity.