Significant change
After the World Cup exit: El Mala surprises with her appearance
May 24, 2026 – 12:08 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Said El Mala is hardly recognizable. The shooting star of 1. FC Köln had his hair dyed. Meanwhile, criticism of his World Cup exit is getting louder and louder.
After his surprising exclusion from the World Cup, it was time for a cut – at least on his head: Said El Mala is hardly recognizable. Shortly after his World Cup exit, the goalscorer presented the… 1. FC Cologne a completely new look for his more than 100,000 Instagram fans. His previously dark hair now literally shines gray.
Teammate Ragnar Ache marvels in the comment column: “El Blond, or what?” And perhaps El Mala’s strike partner was even a kind of role model for the change in type. After a frustrating first half of the season, Ache also dyed his hair light and explained: “I thought I had to change something.” He then blossomed and became the most successful scorer after El Mala.
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Said El Mala “can’t blame himself for anything in terms of sport”
Did the 19-year-old also want a visual fresh start to put his World Cup frustration behind him? According to national coach Julian Nagelsmann, El Mala “took well” to not being nominated, but of course the whiz kid was probably disappointed after scoring an impressive 13 goals and five assists in his first Bundesliga season.
Nagelsmann was asked again on Saturday evening in the run-up to the DFB Cup final between Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart (3-0) about his absence from Cologne and assured: “He can’t blame himself for anything in terms of sport.” El Mala is a “great guy and good player” who has a “big time” ahead of him. The national coach even said: “Said totally deserved to be there in terms of sport.”
El Mala: Nagelsmann’s “crux” and a strange choice of words
Why didn’t he nominate him, unlike Bayern’s youngster Lennart Karl? As he did at the press conference on Thursday, Nagelsmann referred to his game idea: “Basically, we want to play more like Bayern Munich and are not designed for counterattacks.”
The “crux” is also: “I have to evaluate what the players are doing at the club, but I also have to evaluate what the players are doing at our club.” Karl made an “incredibly good impression” on his DFB debut in March and was “humble and yet cheeky”. El Mala, who was nominated in November but not used, acted “a little more cautiously”. Strange: In November, Nagelsmann also said about the FC star: “He is humble, but still cheeky.”
