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Jamal Musiala’s exceptional performances for Germany have lit up Euro 2024, but it is bittersweet for England.
Social media is rife with pictures of Musiala in the famous Three Lions jersey celebrating goals and trophies with midfielder Jude Bellingham during his youth career.
England football may have felt FOMO, also known as the fear of missing out, as the 21-year-old scored three times in his first four matches and was named as player of the match in the 5-1 demolition of Scotland on the opening day.
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Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann says the “brilliant” Musiala must keep playing
“like he is on a small pitch in Germany or England with his friends”.
Yet, this joint piece of English and German engineering was once unknown to the German Football Association.
Cambridge United assistant manager Kevin Betsy managed Musiala in three age groups in England’s youth set-up.
Betsy told BBC Sport:
“I scouted Jamal at an Under-12s tournament in Brighton, and he was up front for Chelsea.
He was tiny, one of the smallest players on the pitch, but he had amazing intelligence, game understanding, quickness over the first five metres, and dribbling ability.
“I realised I saw something special when driving home. We weren’t selecting any underage players for England’s first Under-15s age group, but with him and Jude, we put forward our case to make an exception.
Betsy says Musiala went away with Germany at Under-16 level but did not enjoy his first camp there and returned to England for Under-17s football.
“Again, he faced Germany as England’s captain and was exceptional against them,” he added.
“After the game, their youth coach said, ‘I didn’t realise he was that good’. That game, and Jamal joining Bayern, probably gave Germany the upper hand.”
Musiala was born in Stuttgart, one of the host cities for Euro 2024, and through his father, Daniel Richard, was also eligible for Nigeria.
His mother Carolin achieved a place on an Erasmus course in Southampton, which moved the family to England.
Shortly after he arrived he joined City Central FC in Southampton. His first coach, Rosh Bhatti, posted on Facebook in January 2011 that
“Saints may be signing a player who is so talented that I am confident enough to say he will become a professional footballer one day despite being just seven years old”.
Southampton wanted Musiala but lost him in a three-way battle with Arsenal and Chelsea — as the Blues benefited from his mother getting a job in Surrey after her studies, close to the club’s Cobham training ground.
Musiala then joined Corpus Christi school in New Malden and his personal development was overseen by PE teach Tony Mesourouni, who said: “He didn’t speak fluent English when he came here, but sport helped him settle into the school - he showed great resilience to adapt and always worked hard.
Musiala always spoke German as his first language and enjoyed less travel time and competition after choosing Die Mannschaft in 2021.
Those close to him say he felt more German and perhaps, now that he is starring at a home tournament, this was always his destiny.
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Source: Citizen Digital
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