Sunday 17th October 2021
Bayer vs. FCB, Wirtz vs. Musiala
The duel of Germany’s future world stars
Two 18-year-olds, two young stars with that certain something, two who could shape the Bundesliga and the national team for years: Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala are the focus of the top match between Leverkusen and FC Bayern. One makes his team a Bayern hunter, the other is already being compared to Neymar.
Your future? Promises great things. Your market values? Are at 65 million and 50 million euros, and the trend is rapidly increasing. Your skills? Already outstanding. Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala are without a doubt the two greatest talents in the Bundesliga – at just 18 years of age they are in the top game between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich in the afternoon (3:30 p.m. / DAZN and in the live ticker on ntv.de.) once again in focus on the big stage.
“These are the two young stars who are shaping German football at the moment,” said Bavaria’s President Herbert Hainer, full of anticipation for the duel between the two teenagers with that certain something extra. And Bayer coach Gerardo Seoane said: “Both are players with extremely high offensive potential, both are very technically gifted, both make very good decisions in the last period and are dangerous goals. Both have a good future in the national team.”
But while “Bambi” Musiala has to prevail at the record champions against competitors like Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry, Kingsley Coman or Thomas Müller, Wirtz in Leverkusen has long been the undisputed core force, driver and face of the table runner-up who wants to overthrow Bayern.
Bayer thanks to Wirtz Bayern-Jäger
“Florian Wirtz is without a doubt an outstanding player, a great talent”, even Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann enthused in the evening newspaper about the “hot gamer” (original quote from Lukas Hradecky): “I hope he stays that clear then the national team will also enjoy him a lot “. Both “don’t worry too much,” said Nagelsmann on Friday: “They bring the football field mentality into the stadium.”
Instinctive footballer Wirtz, who scored his first Bundesliga goal against Bayern on June 6, 2020, really got off to a good start this summer. First the right foot led the U21s to the European Championship, then he got off to a great start with Bayer. Thanks to the four goals and five assists in six games by Wirtz, Leverkusen is a real Bayern hunter. Ex-national coach Berti Vogts sees “even more potential” in him than in “Leroy Sané, Serge Gnabry or Timo Werner”, as he wrote in his column on the news portal “t-online”.
Like Wirtz, Musiala can do things with the ball that not everyone can do for a long time. The youngster seems to have “somehow built in a magnet,” said Nagelsmann at last: “The ball keeps flipping back to him.” According to Lothar Matthäus, the fast and tricky attacker can even become a “second Neymar”.
Müller only “placeholder” for Musiala
But because he was battered recently, Nagelsmann is more likely to get him off the bench. But it is probably only a matter of time before Musiala is set like Wirtz. Müller already sees himself only as a “placeholder” for the “magician” and the second youngest goal scorer in the history of the German Football Association (DFB).
National coach Hansi Flick also recently praised Musiala’s qualities “that are not seen that often”. With his dribbling in tight spaces, he could give a team a lot. “He’s intelligent, very smart, can read a game and steal balls,” said Flick, who, like everyone else, will take a very close look at Wirtz and Musiala on Sunday.