Involuntary slipping
Musiala “survives” and reveals EM ignorance
March 27, 2024, 8:52 a.m
Jamal Musiala is known for his dribbling. However, the DFB attacker is often on the pitch against the Netherlands. The game is like a slide – which really annoys national coach Julian Nagelsmann. Musiala himself then has to cope with some bad news for the European Championships.
A hook to the left, a hook to the right – and Jamal Musiala was on his nose again. “I felt like I was slipping with every action. The field went away every time, with every turn,” said the young Bayern star, still astonished after the 2-1 win against the Netherlands. The lawn in the Frankfurt EM Arena made a perfect visual impression. But during the test match between the German national soccer team and the Netherlands he caused a lot of annoyance. National coach Julian Nagelsmann was very annoyed on RTL: “Unfortunately the pitch is a catastrophe. There were many situations in the last third where we slipped away. Especially Jamal, who unfortunately didn’t have a good footing in the situation with his hooks.”
Musiala was happy after his orgy of slips: “Luckily I survived.” The 21-year-old, who missed a great chance due to the sliding effect in the second half, had no real explanation for the grass in Eintracht Frankfurt’s Bundesliga stadium. “I always put on studs,” said the midfield dribbler, described by Nagelsmann as a “magician”. “I do a lot of rotations, so it has to be a bit stable,” said Musiala. The slip factor is “already dangerous”. Thomas Müller only had two words for it: “Insanity”.
According to Nagelsmann, the slippery surface also played a decisive role in Joey Veerman’s early goal (4th minute), which was facilitated by a weak back pass from Maximilian Mittelstädt and hesitant defensive behavior from Jonathan Tah. “On a good pitch we defend it – even if it wasn’t a good ball,” said Nagelsmann. Mittelstädt said matter-of-factly: “The pitch wasn’t in optimal condition, we slipped a lot.”
Musiala’s hopes will not be fulfilled either. He said he didn’t want to play at the European Championships in Frankfurt, apparently not knowing the game plan. The third and final group game against Switzerland takes place there on June 23rd. If the DFB team only finishes third in the group, the subsequent round of 16 could even take place in Frankfurt. The greenkeeper will definitely have a lot of work there before the summer tournament.