At 19, Jamal Musiala is already an important player at FC Bayern Munich and in the national team. The chess player’s art of being one move ahead of his opponent is more in demand than ever at the start of the World Cup against Japan.
There is at least a risk that Jamal Musiala will lose his status as the youngest German senior international with at least one appearance in a tournament. Youssoufa Moukoko will be 18 years and three days old when the selection of the German Football Association (DFB) starts the World Cup against Japan on Wednesday (November 23, 2022, 2 p.m. CET, live on Erste and in the stream at sportschau.de). .
Bayern youngster makes his debut at EURO 2020 for the DFB team
Musiala was 18 years and 117 days old when he came on as a substitute in the final group game against Hungary at EURO 2020 and helped secure the 2-2 equalizer that saved their place in the last 16. A year and a half later, Musiala has lost the status of being a “joker”, one who dribbles through the wall that others bounce off. Someone who finds spaces that others have no idea could open up.
Musiala shuns comparisons with Messi
Jamal Musiala now has the status that he could even become the star of the World Cup. Lothar Matthäus compared him to Lionel Messi. Take it easy, Musiala said: “I think no matter which player you compare to Messi, it’s a bit difficult.” Musiala wants to focus on “what I can do better than Jamal”.
Matthew raves about Musiala’s skills
Lothar Matthäus, the German record player with 150 international matches, did not get along with the Argentinian superstar in an interview with Bayerischer Rundfunk. “His movements, his dribbling, his lightness”, Matthew enthused about Musiala’s abilities: “He anticipates the situations in which he is then ahead of the opponent.” That has to do with the fact that Musiala is a chess player.
Bayern professional on the way to becoming a top star
Being able to think further than other high-calibre footballers in the near future, anticipating what opponents will do and knowing what he is going to do is a trait that should make the difference between top level and one step above, at which just very few stand. It is a burden for Jamal Musiala to put him in the top level category at just 19, but on the other hand nobody who sees him play football can avoid doing that.
Outstanding figures in the Bundesliga
In the current Bundesliga season, Musiala has scored nine goals and six assists in 14 appearances. He is the FC Bayern player who has fought the most tackles. He won 52 percent of that, which is a very good rate for a player who usually gets the ball well into the opponent’s half, often even in the attacking third.
Musiala, 17 caps so far with one goal and three assists, is a ‘ten’ who appears in all other positions on offense, especially in the penalty area and spaces where a classic ‘nine’ can be found, of those the German national team will probably not have anyone in the starting XI against Japan.
Musiala against Japan in the Sané role?
After Leroy Sané’s injury-related absence, it could be that Musiala will nominally start on the left, but that should hardly make a difference in view of the change of position planned by national coach Hansi Flick anyway.
Japan is an opponent whose defensive discipline and presumably also orientation at the DFB is feared. All the more important will be Musiala’s dribbling, his ability to be one move ahead.
Extra shifts with sports scientist Tepel
The chess game alone is not enough for the extremely ambitious Musiala to practice this advantage. That’s why he works with sports scientist Steffen Tepel to train neurological skills. The program includes, for example, training with glasses that temporarily completely or partially prevent vision. The question of when a pass arrives is therefore easier to answer, even if Musiala did not see the ball.
Tepel speaks of a “magnetic foot effect”. This term is not yet common in football. But anyone who sees Jamal Musiala play knows the definition.