Julian Nagelsmann might have taken a certain amount of risk when naming both Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz in the starting eleven of his debut game.
The German coach’s courage to step over the line and refute the conventional opinion to present both youngsters together in the line-up paid off.
Germany’s Golden Boys Musiala and Wirtz left their mark delivering a remarkable performance in a friendly against the USA (3-1).
“I read some months ago, that both can’t play together. I think it’s a brilliant idea,” Nagelsmann was quoted as saying after the Bayern and Leverkusen strikers made the coach’s hopes become reality.
The national coach also spoke about their outstanding talent to get the ball in what he called “the semi-infinite spaces” ahead of the opponents’ back-row aside from their ability to invade the box with their speedy dribbling and create opportunities for teammates.
The German coach demanded not to burden the youngsters with vast expectations. “I hope they don’t get crushed by expectations but preserve their nonchalance.”
When it comes to the genius-like duo, things won’t turn to the bad on the road to the 2024 UEFA Euro.
“I love to play with Florian in one team. We are good friends and have a good relationship,” said the 24 times capped Musiala, the son of a German mother with Polish roots and a Nigerian father.
Eleven times capped Wirtz spoke about his admiration for Musiala’s “stunning moves in every training session. I hardly know of a player with similar dribbling qualities.”
It might not be a surprise that both turned up on the list of the 2023 Golden Boy Award for the best U-21 performer of the year, run by the Italian sports newspaper Tuttosport.
While Musiala and Wirtz might face serious competition from Real highflier Jude Bellingham in that case, they opened doors for new optimism for German football.
Simultaneously no surprise that both trigger the interest of national and international top sides.
Despite a contract until 2027 with Leverkusen, the Spanish paper “Mundo Deportivo” reported the interest of Barcelona while the portal “todofichajes” spoke about PSG.
The German “Bild” is speaking of a first contact of Bayern with the players’ agents.
Fans, pundits, and media share the demand to constantly count on the youngsters as they might stand for a new “golden” era in German football and provide what the side under the supervision of Nagelsmann’s predecessor Hansi Flick lacked such as speed and passion.
Nagelsmann spoke about Musiala as “a great hope for the country” and Wirtz said “it’s great when we managed to find a place for both of us in one line-up.”
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