Hot-shot Mueller collects Golden Boot award

Germany midfielder Thomas Mueller has admitted he was a proud man to finally get his hands on the Golden Boot award as the top-scorer from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The 21-year-old scored five goals and three assists to finish July’s tournament as the top-scorer ahead of fellow hot-shots Spain’s David Villa, Dutchman Wesley Sneijder and Uruguay’s Diego Forlan.

The quartet all scored five goals, but Mueller’s three assists earned him the award and the Bayern Munich dynamo was also voted the best young player of the tournament as Germany finished third in South Africa.

The Bayern star collected his Golden Boot from Adidas headquarters here and admitted he was humbled to win against such high-profile names.

“Of course, it all happened because of the team performance in South Africa,” said Mueller.

“But it is a bit special to win an individual title.

“It fills me with personal pride to be mentioned in a list with such big names.”

Having tasted World Cup success, Mueller says his goals are now to reach the Champions League again with Bayer Munich this season and to help Germany to more success on the international stage.

“Reaching the Champions League final again is the goal this season,” he said.

“And with the national team, you have to think about Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup.”