The big talk of Saturday has been about the comments made by Jürgen Klopp and Thomas Müller, which have put the legendary duo under the microscope with both Bayern Munich and German national team fans.
So, what did the pundits say? Well, they called for Julian Nagelsmann to bench Jamal Musiala and to start Deniz Undav. On the surface, Müller and Klopp make sense because Musiala has not been great since coming back from the devastating leg injury that suffered at last year’s Club World Cup — and Undav has,
indeed, been superb this season.
Before people start carrying on, let’s reiterate a common theme — no one will likely know what kind of player Musiala will be for the future until January or February when there will have been ample time for his form (and body) to fully recover. At that point, it will be sink or swim time for Musiala, but for now, he does deserve to get the benefit of the doubt.
Musiala still holds great potential, despite maybe being miscast on how he might fit best for this German team. If the goal is to get your top, most in-form players together, Nagelsmann can do the right thing and make it happen, without sending Musiala to the bench in a controversial move.
So, why hasn’t Nagelsmann entertained the thought of using Musiala, Undav, Kai Havertz, and Florian Wirtz together? Well, the easy answer is that he does not want to bench one of his favorite players, Leroy Sané. The winger still possesses ungodly skills and ability, but he is as mercurial a performer as you will ever see and also did not meet Nagelsmann’s self-imposed bare minimum to make the German team — be a productive player in a big league. The point is not to disparage Sané (who will likely tear apart Curaçao if he starts on Sunday), but to point out that he is not among the best XI players for Germany at the moment (and has not been for a while).
No matter where Musiala plays, he will likely rip it up against Curaçao as well — a brace would not be surprising. As the level of competition steps up, though, the same issues that have plagued Musiala will still be there. The player himself has talked about a lack of confidence in his body and knowing what it can and cannot do. His vision as an attacking midfielder has been lacking at times since his return, and he is still sometimes forcing plays that are just not there. Maybe worst of all, he has had a great deal of trouble for both Bayern Munich and Germany finding his spot in the flow of the attack.
To be clear, Musiala is not a lost cause despite some of the physical hurdles he is facing, but he might need to see the field from a different vantage point. So, why not play him as a wing and attempt to unlock his 1v1 skills, his uncanny ability to beat defenders and create odd-man mismatches to open up the offense, and also capitalize on his prowess for scoring from all angles? Having Havertz and Undav operate centrally with two creative forces like Wirtz and Musiala working on the flanks could make this Germany attack extremely formidable. If Nagelsmann can push Wirtz out to wing, surely it would not be insulting to ask Musiala to do the same for the betterment of the team, right?
To date, though, coaches for club and country have pussyfooted around the issue with Musiala when it seems like it is at least worth exploring.
It just makes too much sense, so Nagelsmann probably will not do it.
Such is life following Germany these days.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- New, improved notifications system!
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
