Efficiency and straightforwardness. Those are qualities, by his own admission, by which Thomas Muller defines the way he plays football.

'Sometimes a little kid will come up to me and ask me to show him some tricks,' said Muller in an interview with FAZ back in 2012, 'I always have to say: 'I can't do any tricks'.

'They want to see some sort of magic: keepie-uppies, around-the-worlds, that sort of thing. It's not really my strength. I define myself by efficiency and straightforwardness.'

Bayern Munich star Thomas Muller places efficiency above the usual flashy trimmings of football

Muller is congratulated by team-mates after scoring in Bayern's 2-2 Champions League draw with Juventus

MULLER BUNDESLIGA 2015/16 Appearances: 22 Goals: 17 Shot accuracy: 58% Chances created: 48 Pass accuracy: 78% Yellow/red cards: 2/0 Advertisement

Anyone who has ever watched Thomas Muller play football will know that he wasn't being overly modest. Muller's style is unconventional. It is unpredictable. Aesthetically speaking, it is often downright ridiculous. But it is pretty efficient.

His goal against Juventus on Tuesday night was the perfect example. After Douglas Costa had hooked the ball back into play on the byline, it bounced off a Juventus defender before landing perfectly at Muller's feet.

Not for the first time, Muller was in exactly the right place to pick up a loose ball. In true Müller style, with an awkwardly arched back and flailing arms, he side-footed it into the bottom corner. 1-0.

That is the Muller that Germany loves. The young man who lives up to his legendary namesake, Gerd. Not flashy, but always in the right place to stick the ball in the net.

The younger Muller can also score more glorious goals, such as his brilliant overhead kick against Darmstadt last weekend. But, as he has said so many times himself: 'They all count.'

'For once, I actually hit it just as I wanted to,' said Müller after scoring against the USA at the 2014 World Cup, 'it's nice to know that it works that way too.'

Despite a slight personality clash in Guardiola's first year, Muller has remained an integral element of Bayern's attack. This year, he is in the form of his life, with 25 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

The Germany international scored a typically ungainly goal against Juventus on Tuesday night

The 26-year-old celebrates in an understated style after netting the opener at the Juventus Arena

Muller can turn on the style - as he did with this overhead kick against SV Darmstadt

MULLER TROPHY HAUL Bundesliga (4): 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 DFB-Pokal (3): 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14 German Supercup (2): 2010, 2012 UEFA Champions League: 2012–13 UEFA Super Cup: 2013 FIFA Club World Cup: 2013 Advertisement

Alongside Robert Lewandowski, he has internalised and maximised the potential of Guardiola's possession based philosophy. But he is also still the same old Muller: socks slipping down his shins, he still canters around the final third, hunting for loose balls and little gaps.

His authenticity on the pitch is even more prevalent off it. Unusually for a Bayern player – and even more unusually for a Bavarian – Muller is loved in every corner of Germany.

That is partly down to the goals he scores in the national team, but also because he is genuinely normal and likeable. His haircut never changes and his wife is a girl from his hometown who competes in dressage tournaments.

After putting England to the sword in Bloemfontein at the 2010 World Cup, a 21-year-old Muller used the post match interview as an opportunity to say hello to his grandparents, watching back home. It was the genesis of a boy-next-door image which has enchanted Germans ever since.

The 26-year-old has helped realise Bayern Munich's potential alongside Robert Lewandowski (right)

Muller has overcome a slight personality clash with Bayern head coach Pep Guardiola (left)

Four years later, there was another highlight. After victory in the 2014 World Cup final, a Colombian reporter asked him in English how he felt about losing the golden boot to James Rodriguez. Muller grinned, and answered in comedy Bavarian dialect:

'I don't care about that rubbish. We won the World Cup! You can take your golden boot and polish it behind your ears,' he said, leaving the reporter nonplussed and Bastian Schweinsteiger in stitches.

It wasn't malicious. It's just that Muller doesn't suffer fools gladly. The Colombian reporter was neither the first nor the last to have had the mickey taken out of them.

Muller's exploits for the national team have led to him becoming one of the most popular players in Germany

Muller scores Germany's third goal to help eliminate England from the last 16 at the 2010 World Cup

That is just Muller's style. On the pitch and off it, he doesn't buy into the rules of modern football. If the ball lands at his feet, he will poke it in with whichever part of his gangly body is most convenient. If he is asked a boring or silly question, he will have a laugh about it.

Perhaps the best thing about Muller is the way he celebrates. There is never anything fancy, no posing, no backflips. He just stands where he is, utters a roar of delight and punches the air in front of him.

It's a spontaneous, honest outburst of joy. Unpretentious, efficient, straightforward. It is Thomas Muller in a nutshell.