'It will be special to face him' - San Jose Earthquakes star Timo Werner anticipates high-profile clash with former Germany teammate Thomas Muller

Werner pointed to their long history together as he looked ahead to facing Muller, saying:

"I’ve known Thomas for a long time, and he’s a great guy," Werner said. "He’s had a lot of success throughout his career and has continued that with Vancouver over the past couple of seasons. Even at this stage, he’s still a fantastic player. I’m really looking forward to seeing him again and playing against him.

"We’ve shared some great moments as teammates, as well as some tough battles as opponents, so it’ll be special to face him once more. Hopefully, we can come out on top."

Muller and Werner shared the pitch 23 times for the national team over the years:

"With the [German] national team, we went through some ups and downs. When I first joined, he was already a World Cup winner, and it was a challenging period at times, but we still had success," Werner said. "We won the Confederations Cup together and shared some really important experiences. Off the pitch, he’s a great person to be around. We had a lot of fun moments. I remember we often sat near each other on the bus during tournaments like the World Cup and European Championship, and those were really good times."

Werner's Quakes have enjoyed a strong start to the season under Bruce Arena. Despite losing star Designated Player Cristian Espinoza in the winter, they have retooled admirably and are fourth in the Western Conference, with three wins and one loss to their name. Werner assisted in each of his first two appearances for the California side, and turned in a solid performance against the Seattle Sounders last week.

Vancouver are expected to be among one of the top contenders to win MLS Cup. They made it to the final last year and gave Inter Miami a decent game, despite losing 3-1 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They are currently top of the West, with four wins. They have scored 14 and conceded one. Muller has found the net twice thus far.