He only needs machines for the health insurance companies, actually the sensitive hands are enough: Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt’s reputation as an over-doctor precedes him. There is also criticism because the long-time doctor of FC Bayern and the DFB-Elf relies on controversial funds. Now he is 80 years old.
Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt once claimed that he used to run the 100 meters in eleven seconds. In order to believe him, it is enough to have seen the native East Frisian in action once. How he ran across the lawn at a full sprint, doctor’s bag in hand, his hair flying, while his physio tried desperately to somehow follow.
The image of the man, who is celebrating his 80th birthday this Friday, has stuck with many fans of Bayern Munich and the German national team. “He’s a cult figure,” said former Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes about “Mull”: “A phenomenon as a doctor and as a person.”
Over the years, a real myth arose about the “miracle healer”. Müller-Wohlfahrt can “see with his hands” – the title of his autobiography published in 2018. It is said that he can miraculously feel injuries. He doesn’t use any machines for his diagnoses, he only uses them “for the insurance company, because they don’t believe that you can only diagnose with your hands”.
Because of such statements, Müller-Wohlfahrt is not without controversy among colleagues – and because of his preference for the preparation Actovegin. It promotes the growth and proliferation of muscle cells, but is not illegal unless injected intravenously. The application is controversial in medicine. Travis Tygart, head of the US Anti-Doping Agency, once described the use of the drug as a “Frankenstein experiment”.
The FC Bayern players, Frankenstein or not, still trusted Müller-Wohlfahrt – and not only them. Usain Bolt dedicated his 2016 Olympic gold medals to his “wonderful doctor”. Without his “Doc”, the career of the super sprinter would have ended earlier. Boris Becker, Katarina Witt and Sven Hannawald were also among his patients.
But internally, not everyone always found such positive words as Bolt. The feud with the former Munich coach Pep Guardiola remains unforgettable, especially among Bayern fans. The vain Spaniard and the vain East Frisian did not get along, in April 2015, after almost 38 years at Bayern, Müller-Wohlfahrt finally gave up. In 2017, after Guardiola had already moved on to Manchester, he returned again.
Müller-Wohlfahrt ended his career in the national team in 2018 after 23 years, two years later he also retired from FC Bayern, and he still runs his practice in Munich’s old town today. The man with the seeing hands once explained that he was “driven”. Retirement has “no point” as long as it is asked. For him it is “always forward”. Still in full sprint at 80 years old.
