Thomas Müller criticises Fifa for risky San Marino-Germany game
The German striker made his views clear on the pointlessness of the world champions having to play in games they will win easily but San Marino were quick to bite back.
German striker Thomas Müller has taken a swipe at their recent World Cup qualifying opponent San Marino, a game that was won convincingly 8-0 in the Serravalle stadium in the microstate.
Questioning the reason for smaller team involvement
World Cup winner Müller said after the demolition job - which had several of the German second string involved – that he “did not understand the point of games like these”, especially with such a busy fixture schedule.
“I understand that for them [San Marino] it is special to play against the world champions, and I also understand that they can only defend with strong tackling,” the player added. “For this reason, I wonder if these are not games that bring with them unnecessary risks.”
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich’s CEO, agreed with his compatriot saying, “San Marino has got nothing to do with professional football.”
A stinging 10-point counter-attack
But although the players on the pitch were unable to do anything to avoid the backlash of a German attack, San Marino’s were able to fight back through another means as Alan Gasperoni published a 10-point response to the German criticism in which he didn’t hold back.
The original Facebook post can be found here but here is a translation thanks to the Mirror newspaper.
"Dearest Thomas Muller,
You're right. The games like that on a Friday night, they're nothing. To you. On the other hand, dear Thomas, you do not need to come to San Marino for almost nothing in a weekend in which, without the Bundesliga, you could have spent with your wife on the sofa of you luxury villa or, who knows, you could have taken part in some events organised by your sponsors to bank several thousand euros. I believe you, but allow me to give 10 good reasons for which I think the San Marino-Germany match was very useful and if only you could could think about it and let me know what you think:
1. It served to show you that not even against the teams as poor as ours you can't score a goal - and don't say you weren't pissed when Simoncini stopped you scoring...
2. It served to make it clear to your managers (and even at Beckenbauer and Rummenigge) that football is not owned by them but by of all those who love it, among which, like it or not, WE are included.
3. It served to remind hundreds of journalists from all over Europe that there are still guys who follow their dreams and not your rules.
4. It served to confirm that you Germans you will never change and that history has taught you that "bullying" is not always guarantee of victory.
5. It served to show the 200 guys in San Marino who play the game for whatever reason why their coaches ask them to always work their hardest. Who knows - maybe one day all their sacrifice will not be repaid with a game against the champions of the world.
6. It served to your Federation (and also to ours) to collect the money of image rights with which, in addition to paying you for your trouble, they can build pitches for the kids of your own country, schools, and make football stadiums safer... Our Federation, I'll let you in on a secret, is building a new football pitch in a remote village called Acquaviva. You could build it with six months of your salary, we'll do it with the rights of 90 minutes of game. Not bad right?
7. It served to a country as big as your pitch in Munich to go in the paper for a good reason, because a football match is always a good reason.
8. It served to your friend Gnabry to begin with, in the national team and scoring three goals.
9. It made some Sanmarinese people a little happy to remember that we have a real national team.
10. It's served to make me realise that even if you wear the most beautiful adidas kits, underneath you're always the ones that put white socks under their sandals.
With Love, your Alan."