Thomas Muller and Son Heung-min: Old Bundesliga friends, new MLS rivals

German beginnings

Even casual soccer fans know Thomas Muller came up in Germany. He's one of the most recognizable German players of all time and he spent the majority of his career with Bayern Munich. But few know that Son owes his career to Germany, too.

Before LAFC, before Spurs and before global superstardom, Son was a teenager on trial with Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga. He became the club's youngest-ever goalscorer in 2010 and spent three full seasons with its senior team before breaking through with Bayer Leverkusen in 2013. Son spent another two seasons there before moving to Spurs and breaking through on a global level.

Muller and Son never played for the same side in Germany, but they faced off often enough to become familiar to one another. "Honestly, I always played against Sonny in Germany. He was always good enough to join Bayern Munich," Muller said before the All-Star Game. "Unfortunately, it never came to be."

"Thomas and me, we are getting a little bit older, but I think this experience is special," Son said of taking the field with his old rival. "It doesn't matter how old you are, and we are all excited and we are all happy to be here."

A serious Western Conference rivalry

Muller and Son occupy similar spaces within their respective MLS teams: Both are respected global legends with mood-lightening silly streaks. (Muller's teammates call him a "joker" while Son's call him a "troll.") Their leadership has taken their respective clubs — Vancouver and LAFC — to the top of MLS's Western Conference with 33 points apiece.

Their upcoming clash is a meaningful one. With fellow Western Conference striver San Jose struggling to gain momentum after the league's World Cup break, Vancouver and LAFC look poised to dominate the rest of the season — and the winner of this head-to-head match will undoubtedly lead the way.

Both teams have changed significantly over the course of the season. Vancouver lost U.S. Men's National Team midfielder Sebastian Berhalter to Middlesbrough but gained the services of previously injured Scottish attacker Ryan Gauld; LAFC pushed through a difficult spell of low-scoring matches to unlock the potent partnership of Son and Gabonese striker Denis Bouanga. The teams are meeting at the right time: They're finally becoming the entities they showed flashes of before the World Cup began.

While plenty of players can (and will) impact the final result, all eyes will be on Muller and Son. Their friendship might stretch back decades, but their MLS rivalry is just beginning.

The Vancouver Whitecaps will host LAFC on Saturday, Aug. 1.