Thomas Muller says he wants to play until he’s 35, reminisces playing under youth coach Lim Teong Kim

Thomas Muller has failed to start 4 consecutive matches for Bayern Munich for the first time since May 2009, as Niko Kovac has started him from the bench in those respective matches. There’s no disguising the fact that Muller is approaching the closing phase of his career, but in a recent interview with Goal Korea (via KOMPAS.com) as a part of a media event for the Asian press after Bayern’s win over Hertha Berlin, Müller revealed that he has ambitions of playing until he’s at least 35 years old when asked about his future with Bayern:

That’s an important question. I’m happy at Bayern now, but I’m 29 years old and I think I can play till I’m 35. I don’t know what the future holds for me. However, is that the opinion of the club, too? One thing is certain, I love Bayern.

Müller also reminisced on his youth career when he played under Malaysian manager Lim Teong Kim, who was Bayern’s assistant manager for the U19’s from 2001-2013. He coached Müller during his first two seasons with the youth team, and the midfielder credits Kim with teaching him about some of the tactics and playing styles that have made him such a successful professional:

For two years, he [Lim] was my coach in the youth team. I think he was the first coach that I learned about tactics from, and the basics for becoming a professional footballer I think I learned from him. One example is the overlap move, when your team-mate has the ball and you have to overlap to create the two-on-one situation. He was a very clever guy and I liked him a lot.

In addition to his title as the raumdueter, Muller also declared himself to be the funniest player on the Bayern squad despite any arguments Franck Ribery might have with that affirmation:

I am the funniest, if Ribery is ‘crazy’. Like French people, he always ignores anyone.

In typical Muller fashion, he also showed one of Goal’s reporters his best horse impression and got him to join in on the fun: