Greatest Debut Season of All Time?

flahavaj

Thomas Mueller's story is mind boggling.

This time last year he was a little known reserve player at Bayern Munich, before he was plucked from relative obscurity by Louis van Gaal.

Fast forward one year and he has

- Won the Bundesliga with his club
- Won the German Cup with his club
- Played in the Champions League Final with his club
- Reached the semi finals of the World Cup (at least) with Germany
- Could easily win the Golden Boot.

My question is this. Is this the most spectacular debut season in the history of the game?

Kiwi_knock

Pedro's season with Barca has been pretty extraordinary

pickarooney

Pff, it's nothing on Frederico Macheda.

Interesting post. I'll have a think (read: google) about some alternatives.

curry-muff

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Pedro's season with Barca has been pretty extraordinary

Are you seriously comparing it to Mullers?

jesus_thats_gre

curry-muff wrote: »

Are you seriously comparing it to Mullers?

Not massively dissimilar in fairness.

Kiwi_knock

curry-muff wrote: »

Are you seriously comparing it to Mullers?

I believe Muller had a better debut season but Pedro has been outstanding this year for Barca so I felt he warranted a mention in this thread

rossie1977

try pele, debut season while starting, won the league, finished top scorer, won the world cup, scored the only goal in the q-final, scored a hat-trick after coming on at half time in the semi and another two in the final, all at the age of 17

A Primal Nut

I'll probably get slated for this but I remember when Wayne Rooney first burst onto the scene he was amazing. That goal against Arsenal and I remember he scored a few other really good important goals that season. And he was still only 16. Thats from memory though and statistics don't really back it up.

According to Wikipedia, Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 44 games in his debut season for Cruzeiro while still 17, winning the Copa de Brazil and earning a place in the 1994 World Cup Winning Squad, although he didn't play.

Certainly in terms of success on a team level (most important thing) Muller's season is impressive.

I wanted to say Pele too but apparently he played 67 games in 1957, so I wouldn't count 1958, which included the world cup, as his debut season. His 1957 season was still impressive going by his goalscoring record.

parker kent

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Not massively dissimilar in fairness.

I think their World Cup experiences are pretty much massively dissimilar so far. Muller with a bit of luck could be top scorer in the World Cup and one of the youngest ever winners of the tournament. I'd say he is pretty much a lock for young player of the tournament and challenging Villa for overall player of the tournament.

Pedro on the other hand has hit the post with a shot. And....eh that's about it. Maybe he will make a major impact in the semis and final to change all that. On a different note, I would start him ahead of Torres so Villa can move up front.

Pedro had a good season with Barca but it is nothing spectacular or especially memorable (is it really any different to Giggs/Raul/Maldini etc first season?)

redout

If you wanna add managers into the fray then Pep Guardiola.

La Liga
Copa del Rey
Supercopa Espana
UEFA Champions league
UEFA Super cup
FIFA Club World cup

Individual
Onze d'Or
UEFA manager of the year
LFP manager of the year
IFFHS manager of the year
Don Balon manager of the year
Miguel Munoz manager of the year
World Soccer manager of the year

Mr.Nice Guy

Hmm, interesting topic.

I think Lothar Matthäus warrants a mention. He started his pro career in 1979 aged 18 with Borussia Monchengladbach. In his first season they reached the final of the UEFA Cup losing to Eintract Frankfurt 3-3 on aggregate. Matthäus scored in the 3-2 victory in the first leg. He then made his international debut in the 1980 European Championships which Germany went on to win.

gimmick

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Pedro's season with Barca has been pretty extraordinary

curry-muff wrote: »

Are you seriously comparing it to Mullers?

Not sure are you saying the above is a positive or negative to Pedro.

Pedro in the last 12 months, where it has been his first as a first teamer has scored in every competition he has played in - league, super cup, european super cup, champions league, copa del rey and champions league. He makes his competitive debut for Spain tonight.

Best? Who is to say? Impressive? Most certainly.

Turtyturd

rossie1977 wrote: »

try pele, debut season while starting, won the league, finished top scorer, won the world cup, scored the only goal in the q-final, scored a hat-trick after coming on at half time in the semi and another two in the final, all at the age of 17

But it was all downhill from there. Pedro doesn't compare to Mueller even at a glance. He is not even a starter for Spain.

Eire-Dearg

As someone mentioned Aquilani yet?

Xavi6

In before John O'Shea

BigBenRoeth

Johnathan Woodgate for Real.