Germany

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Muller surprised by awards

12 Jul 2010 - 13:27:03

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Germany striker Thomas Muller has spoken of his surprise and amazement at ending his first World Cup as the winner of the Golden Shoe.

The 20-year-old Bayern Munich forward won the prestigious accolade after edging out three other strikers - David Villa, Wesley Sneijder and Diego Forlan - by virtue of more assists.

The quartet all finished the tournament level on five goals, but Muller won the award as he had provided assists for three of Germany's other goals on route to their third-placed finish in South Africa.

"This is just incredible for a newcomer to the World Cup. If anyone had told me I'd end on eight scorer points, I'd have said they were kidding me," Muller told his club's official website.

"It's an honour of course, but at the end of the day, I'd rather have had the World Cup itself."

Muller, who had not scored an international goal before the start of the World Cup, was also voted the best young player at the tournament.

"It's a huge honour to be part of a group including the likes of Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Michael Owen and the most recent winner, Lukas Podolski," continued the former under-21 international.

"For me personally, it's terrific confirmation of the work I've put in over the last year. I'm delighted my great run has continued here and I've really enjoyed it too.

"The honour will be with me for all time, and it's a wonderful memento too."