Kirchheim Bay Munich, Germany – Think back to 2016, when two young footballers became best friends playing for England Under-15s. They are even closer as they represent the country’s Under-16, Under-17 and Under-21 teams together. Now, they are taking the sport by storm.
While Jude Bellingham has made an impressive start at Real Madrid following his move from Borussia Dortmund, Jamal Musiala – who now represents Germany at senior international level – is already being talked about as Bayern Munich’s greatest talent since Lothar Matthaus, of whom he is a huge fan himself. . Musiala and Bellingham are the future of football. Currently, the team is in hot competition for this year’s Golden Boy award, which is given to the best player in Europe under the age of 21.
He added: “It would definitely be nice to win it, and I think it reflects how much effort I’ve put in over the past years and everything, but it’s not something I’ll be 100% sad about.” [to lose] “Or something else,” Musiala told ESPN in an exclusive interview during the offseason. “I think I have to keep working and then the individual awards will come.”
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (US)
– Leipzig vs. Bayern: Saturday, 12:30 PM ET, live on ESPN+
Whether the trophy goes to Musiala or Bellingham, these two are destined to become football’s iconic golden boys for years to come. “It’s definitely crazy,” Musiala said of growing up in the game alongside Bellingham. “If you look at the time when we were still flatmates in the England national team, and then if you told us probably in four years or something… Jude will be at Real Madrid and I will be at Bayern.” [we] I probably wouldn’t have believed it at the moment. “But it’s definitely a big achievement.”
A veteran mentality from a blossoming star
Despite the similarities between the pair, there are differences as well. While Bellingham comes from a footballing family, with his father Mark Bellingham being a prolific non-league striker for many years, Musiala, with the help of his mother Caroline, has had to forge his own path in elite football.
Talking to Musiala offers a glimpse into the true and down-to-earth personality that defines him. Despite his natural talent, he does not take his starring role at Bayern for granted, nor his status as one of the best young playmakers in the world.
“I think I work every day, after every training or match, and then day after day at home and everything, just trying to do everything that can take me to the next level,” the 20-year-old said. “And I want to get better season after season and look at the little things that can take me further. And I try to start at a young age with nutrition, working out overtime so I can get more stamina, wearing shoes, like every little thing.” “I’m working on it. And then season after season, hopefully I’ll get better.”
This mentality also helps Musiala overcome setbacks, whether it be his unlucky participation in the 2022 World Cup or some injury issues earlier this season.
Following his interview with ESPN, Musiala played one match in the Bundesliga before being sidelined due to a muscle tear. He returned to the starting lineup with an excellent performance against Manchester United in the Champions League, outperforming United’s two midfielders, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen, on numerous occasions. Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel designed his game plan for that match around the idea of Musiala linking up the opposing midfielders and thus creating space for teammates such as Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane and Harry Kane.
– Scoring the title-winning goal from the training field
Naturally, coaches are in awe of the tactical possibilities Musiala offers them. He can play a wide range of roles, from a traditional number 10 to a central midfielder to a hybrid winger. Tuchel enjoys using Musiala’s skills to create an advantage for his attack against opponents like United. Kane, Bayern’s record signing who joined the club in August, is said to be very excited about the potential interaction with Musiala and what their partnership could do for the England captain.
“I always ask for advice or something, because there are a lot of players I play with who have been around longer than me, and there are a lot of people who can give me advice,” Musiala said. “And I just try to take it all in and try to execute it and learn from it and try to get better.”
There are few in football who know as much about being a top-class attacking player as Kane.
Bayern felt it necessary to sign Kane after a somewhat disappointing 2022-23 season in which the club claimed the Bundesliga title at the last minute, but were knocked out of the Champions League and German Cup in the quarter-finals. While Musiala played well during the first half of the season, he was not immune to the team’s downward spiral that culminated in the sacking of coach Julian Nagelsmann in late March.
“[I] “I feel like after the World Cup, it was difficult for us as a whole team, and me personally, to get into a good rhythm, and it was very difficult to keep it going,” Musiala said. We weren’t winning games as comfortably as we were [before] We weren’t playing the way we wanted to play or the way we were playing before.”
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Musiala: I trained for the goal of winning the German League title
Jamal Musiala recalls Bayern Munich’s last-gasp title-winning goal against Cologne.
In the end, he scored a late goal against FC Cologne in the final round of the Bundesliga season, a goal that secured Bayern’s 33rd championship. Even that shot, when Musiala opened the field with a single touch on the edge of the penalty area and then curled a shot past goalkeeper Marvin Schwabe, was the result of hard work.
“I’ve practiced that exact position over there in training before,” he said. “I think there was a video where I trained him where he looked exactly the same, and I think I try to do a lot of repetitions in training the positions I might be in in the game. Fortunately, I was training the right position I guess.”
Bayern’s start to the 2023-2024 season has not been particularly good. They have managed to rediscover their attacking abilities after losing the German Super Cup 3-0 to RB Leipzig at the Allianz Arena, but they are still vulnerable defensively as we saw in recent matches against Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen.
On Saturday, Musiala and his teammates will meet again with RB Leipzig, who under coach Marco Rose have beaten Bayern twice in a row. Perhaps the Bavarians need another of Musiala’s amazing performances.
