The world may be in a constant state of uncertainty, but it’s nice to know that some things can always be relied upon to remain the same – Bayern Munich will always be good at football.
The Bavarians kicked off their Bundesliga title defence at home to Schalke on Friday evening with a thumping 8-0 win, with teenager Jamal Musiala becoming the club’s youngest ever goalscorer; smashing the previous record set by an 18-year-old Roque Santa Cruz.
At 17 years and 205 days old, Jamal #Musiala is our youngest ever Bundesliga goalscorer! ?⚪
Congratulations, Jamal! ? #MiaSanMia #FCBS04 pic.twitter.com/b5TgxKUkzT
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) September 19, 2020
While a debut goal for Leroy Sané and a Serge Gnabry hat-trick will undoubtedly steal the headlines from Hansi Flick’s side’s opening day rout, the enormity of the 17-year-old’s achievement shouldn’t be underestimated.
Bayern’s attacking midfielder looks set for a career at the very top, so we should probably learn a little more about him before we start boasting to have spotted him before anyone else did.
Testspielreihe in Marbella:
England U17 0:0 Ukraine U17
Jamal Musiala: 90 Minuten, KapitänEngland U17 4:2 Russland U17
Jamal Musiala: 73 MinutenEngland U17 4:0 Ukraine U17
Jamal Musiala: ohne Einsatz pic.twitter.com/VYUro2GKi0— FC Bayern News (@iMiaSanMia_GER) February 13, 2020
Despite spending the majority of his childhood in England, Musiala was born in Germany and lived there until his was seven.
His dual citizenship has seen him represent both England and Germany at youth level, though his two caps for the Germany Under-16s are far outweighed by his appearances for the Young Lions.
It remains to be seen which country the youngster will opt to represent with both parties already rumoured to be engaged in a tug-of-war over his services.
Ardent Three Lions fans will no doubt cling to the fact Musiala’s most recent international activity came in the white of England rather than Germany. However, read into the youngster’s missed penalty when representing England against Germany last October as much as you want…
@WhitgiftSport @ChelseaFC footballer Jamal Musiala lifting the golden boot at the end of the Madrid Football Cup pic.twitter.com/oDeJIY4F70
— Whitgift Sport (@WhitgiftSport) September 29, 2015
Chelsea have made a bit of a habit of letting budding superstars leave the club in recent years – though in fairness, when you’ve got 50% of all of the footballers in the world on your books it’s bound to happen once or twice.
Musiala may well be the next name to be tagged onto the end of the ‘Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Mohamed Salah’ roll of honour, after he left the Blues in July 2019. The Bayern man spent eight years at Chelsea, having moved to Stamford Bridge in 2011 after a brief spell with Southampton.
Upon signing for Chelsea, Musiala was enlisted at the Whitgift School in Croydon. Previous students of the school include Callum Hudson-Odoi, Victor Moses and Bertrand Traore, all of whom would go on to represent Chelsea at senior level.
Imagine coming on for @esmuellert_ on your #FCBayern debut ?
Soak it up, Jamal #Musiala ?
?⚪ #FCBSCF 3-1 (88‘) pic.twitter.com/LJsDb1ihkc
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) June 20, 2020
Becoming the youngest ever Bayern goalscorer won’t be a tag which weighs heavy on Musiala’s shoulders – he’s well versed in breaking records.
The England Under-17 international can already proudly boast being Bayern’s youngest ever player, having made his Bavarians debut at just 17 years and 115 days old in the club’s 3-1 win over Freiburg back in June.
At 6ft Musiala is far from diminutive, though he’s conceded he needs to add muscle to his slender frame if he’s to compete at the top level.
The midfield man has been compared to Tottenham man Dele Alli – preferring to play in the number ten role – though he has been deployed as a number nine in the past.
The 17-year-old is predominantly right-footed though is perfectly capable of cutting onto his left and prides himself on his powerful strike.
Let’