Former Bayern Munich sporting director Matthias Sammer thinks that Jamal Musiala is on the verge of a breakout and will show up big as the World Cup goes on.
“I’m absolutely convinced that Jamal Musiala will improve significantly as the tournament unfolds. Maybe not in the first match, maybe in the second – Then comes the knockout stage and suddenly he’ll explode. He’s gradually taking steps forward. When you have a world-class player, you should trust and support him. The coaching staff and his teammates
should make him feel: ‘Yes, we know you’re not at 100% yet, but you will be. Join in, we trust you and you trust us,” Sammer said during an appearance on Sky Germany (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).
Musiala has not been at his best so far, but Germany will need him to be moving forward. If that is possible or not in this tourney does remain a massive question.
BFW Commentary
Most observers know and understand the great potential that Musiala has. However, the catastrophic injury that Musiala suffered in the Club World Cup last summer has had lingering effects on the 23-year-old.
The Bayern Munich star has spoken about the difficulties that he has faced both physically and mentally and has not looked close to his old self — at least not yet. Last month, Nagelsmann spoke about Musiala not being 100% and spun it in a positive way by stating, “Even at 95 percent, Jamal is still one of the most extraordinary players on the planet. I’m incredibly happy he’s back and will help us.”
However, what if he is not 95% or 90% or even 80%? It is hard to discern where Musiala is at, but is easy to see that he is not what he was before the injury. That, of course, will take time. so the expectations from Sammer and Nagelsmann might be too much for Musiala at this point of his recovery journey.
It can be debated if he came back too early for Bayern Munich and it can be argued that his workload should have even been less than what it was when he did return, but Musiala has not looked consistently comfortable and has had trouble getting into the flow of the game for both club and country.
This does not mean he is bad and it does not mean that he cannot get back to what he was, it just means that he needs more time to get right and also that placing expectations on him might not be the best thing for him or for Germany.
So, what can Nagelsmann do?
A move to wing might do Musiala wonders, no matter what his positional preference is. At wing, Musiala can work more in 1v1 situations, create for himself and the team, and operate from the outside-in, where he can take advantage of space when he beats his defender. Playing centrally, Musiala is getting beat up, looks tentative, and has struggled with decision-making. Putting him on the flank might help unleash the best version of what he is right now.
So far, Nagelsmann has been reluctant to make the move, but it might be time to see if a change like this can help Germany — and Musiala — be the best version of themselves at this moment.
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…
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