Bellingham, Musiala at the center of attention at German Classico
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E-mail Xinhua, October 8, 2022
The 107th edition of the German Classico has turned into a nail-biting duel of two 19-year-olds.
When the country's best, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, cross swords this Saturday evening all eyes are on Jude Bellingham and Jamal Musiala.
Both youngsters in their early stages developed into team leaders and stand for an unusual youth wave in the Bundesliga as both sides entirely depend on their contributions.
Dortmund vs. Bayern is the duel of two childhood friends that a few years later took different roads to reach the top. Their upswing seems unstoppable considering their value before turning 20.
Both made their way into the national teams of England and Germany after Stuttgart-born Musiala decided to slip into the German shirt. Needless to say, both countries do not depend less on them as their club teams.
Being only four months apart age-wise they spend years in the same hotel room when in the shirt of the Three Lions under-15 team.
Former England youth coach Kevin Betsy not only remembers their outstanding talent but the shared problem of "not being happy having to do a midday nap."
The former Barnsley player remembers "both to turn about everything into a competition. No matter if it was table tennis, video games, or board games; sparks flew."
Not only when it comes to German record international Lothar Matthaeus, but the youngsters also trigger a wave of euphoria.
"They are 19. And, they are already game changers in top sides participating on the international stage; they are leaders," the former Bayern midfielder said as if he couldn't believe his own words.
Without missing a single minute of the Black and Yellows games this season Birmingham-born Bellingham wore BVB's captains' band in the Champions League against Sevilla (4-1) and became the youngest team captain in the club's history.
Aside from delivering the best man-to-man statistics in the German league (225/61 percent), the game-conducting midfielder was the youngest ever for Borussia to do his 100th game at an age of 19 years and 80 days.
What advantage for Bellingham? Not a bit of it. Musial's 16 goals make him the most successful under-20-year-old in Bayern's history. Bayern's youngest Champions League scorer? Musiala. The striker became the youngest Bavarian having scored twice in one game, adding the achievement of the youngest to do 50 games.
Characteristics such as youthful nonchalance, dynamic, robustness, inspiration, and an insatiable joy to play football apply to both.
"Both are on their way to great stars in football," Matthaeus is predicting.
Both laugh out loud when confronted with their reputation speaking of them as the coolest commodities in German football.
"Don't know if that is true that I am that cool; I only know right after kick-off I want to win the game by all means. My mind enters another world then," Bellingham said.
What might sound like a burdening obsession seems something rather simple.
"I am just having fun playing football," Musiala stated. "A lot of." This time the youngsters come along as the German Classico's main acts.
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