This article was Published at: 12-07-2010 and has been viewed 65 times

Germany starlet Thomas Muller has been rewarded for an excellent World Cup campaign by being named the tournament`s best young player.

 

Muller`s five goals in South Africa  saw the Bayern Munich  attacker finish with the Golden Boot and beat Andre Ayew and Giovani dos Santos to the young player award.

The 20-year-old, who had missed the semi-final defeat by Spain through suspension, was a key figure in Germany finishing third in the World Cup.

He scored a brace in the last 16 thrashing of England, opened the scoring in the quarter-final mauling of Argentina and repeated the trick in the third-placed play-off win over Uruguay.

Muller emulates compatriots Franz Beckenbauer and Lukas Podolski in winning the award and admits it is a 'huge honour'.

Terrific confirmation

"The honour will be with me for all time," said Muller.

"It's a terrific confirmation of the work I've put in over the last year, and it`s a huge honour to be part of a group including the likes of Beckenbauer and Pele.

"It also points to the excellent quality of our youth development work in Germany, so I`d like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff at Bayern Munich and the Germany national set-up, and the coaching team, who have always kept faith with me.

"I`ve really enjoyed my football with the lads here."

However, Muller revealed he will leave South Africa with one regret after Germany were denied a place in the Soccer City final by eventual champions Spain.

He added: "What I really wanted was to win the World Cup as part of a team."