Marie Müller shows how the Thorns' roster experiments can pay off

After eight games this year, I knew that Marie Müller had been a good signing for the Portland Thorns in the offseason. With four games left in the regular season, I still don't think we're talking about them enough.

It's no news that the Thorns are in limbo for 2024. They signed a lot of new players, lost some long-time starters, promoted a new head coach and struggled to find a consistent identity amid all the hustle and bustle.

Müller, who was born and raised just a short drive from the Rhine, is not a player with the established international fame of a Jessie Fleming or Mackenzie Arnold. As a teenager, she played for German youth national teams and helped her U-17 team to the European Championship in 2016. When she arrived in Portland last winter, Müller was a young defender who had established herself during her five seasons with German team SC Freiburg. In the Thorns' statement about their signing, former head coach Mike Norris described Müller as “versatile and tenacious”.

But in press conferences, Müller speaks quietly, more shyly than distantly. “When I came to America I didn’t really have high expectations. I thought, 'Okay, we'll see,'” Mueller said after Portland played the North Carolina Courage to a 1-0 win in June. “We’ll see, but I’m really happy to be here.”

Müller's concern was understandable: She was one of three defenders whose debut for the Thorns earlier in the season was also her first appearance in American soccer. (The other two are Nicole Payne and Isabella Obaze.)

With Meghan Klingenberg, another regular defensive player, playing significantly fewer minutes this season, the Thorns have relied heavily on Müller and Reyna Reyes to keep the defensive line in check and provide attacking width. Reyes could have played more minutes than she did in her rookie season in 2023, but Müller has quickly made a name for herself.

“She is an outstanding player,” Portland head coach Rob Gale told the media in June, “the quality on the ball can rise and fall.”

We have proven Müller's abilities again and again this season. Fans quickly recognize her by the tight knot on her head and her interceptions. She excels at recognizing her opponents' play, fending off their passes with a controlled first touch and passing the ball on for the Thorns. According to soccer stat tracker FBref, she is second in the league in interceptions (behind only Racing Louisville's Taylor Flint) and second on her team (after Sophia Smith) in progressive carries.

“I like running,” Müller told the media in June with a smile.

This on-field movement was on full display in Portland's recent 2-2 draw against Angel City FC, when Muller set up Morgan Weaver's goal in the 49th minute. Müller intercepted Angel City's attempt to switch fields, looked forward and passed the ball to Christine Sinclair in the middle of the Los Angeles defense. She continued her run and found the end of Sinclair's return ball at the top of the Angel City penalty area before crossing the ball to Weaver, who fired her shot past goalkeeper Didi Haračić. (“She does it like it's the easiest thing in the world, and it's not,” Thorns captain Becky Sauerbrunn said in June of Müller's one-two to move the ball up the field.)

Of course, a club can't expect every signing to work out perfectly, but Portland's roster construction this year has seemed confused at best (see: the club's strange little goalkeeping fiasco, which required multiple signings and two-thirds of the season to sort itself out). ). on Arnold as their No. 1) and, in the worst case, counterproductive. (For the latter, we can point to the Thorns' lack of midfield depth, but that's a topic for another column.)

These off-season signings can be interpreted as a move to develop a younger generation of Thorns defenders as players like Klingenberg and Sauerbrunn approach retirement. But Payne, 23, appears to be the third fullback in Portland's rankings, and Obaze, at age 21, has struggled to log consistent minutes since recovering from a knee injury early in the season.

But sign a player like Müller? One who has managed to adapt to the NWSL and so seamlessly fill the profile Portland traditionally looks for in a fullback? This is a victory.