Bayern prodigy Musiala chooses Germany over England
Johor lass takes on the boys with debut outfit Tuneboss-Pink Racing
BERLIN: His decision to opt to play for Germany over England is said to have disappointed Gareth Southgate, yet teenager Jamal Musiala (pic) still relies on his mum to drive him to Bayern Munich training sessions.
Musiala this month signed a five-year contract with Bayern, a week after his 18th birthday, which reportedly earns him around €5 million (RM24.5 million) per year.
The baby-faced attacking midfielder could make his fifth Champions League appearance at home to Lazio on Wednesday, having scored his first European goal in the 4-1 first-leg rout in Rome.
Musiala was born in Stuttgart, but moved to London as a child and came through Chelsea’s academy before joining Bayern in 2019.
Musiala went on to play for both Germany and England at Under-16 level.
On Friday, Fifa approved his decision to play senior football for Germany after Musiala had played twice for England’s Under-21s last November.
Before announcing his decision, which was revealed the day after becoming Bayern’s youngest Champions League scorer, Musiala broke the news to Southgate.
“I wanted to explain the reasons for my decision to John McDermott (FA Technical Director) and Gareth Southgate,” Musiala told magazine Sport Bild.
“They were a bit disappointed, but understood my decision and wished me all the best.”
The decision to reject England for Germany came down to gut feeling.
“I just have two hearts in me and I’m really proud to play for Germany now. So for the country in which I was born,” he added.
As German magazine Kicker put it, Musiala’s rise at Bayern has been nothing short of “meteoric.”
He became the youngest player in Bayern’s history when he made his Bundesliga debut last June, aged 17 years and 115 days.
He then became the club’s youngest goalscorer in Germany’s top-flight when he scored a goal after coming off the bench in the 8-0 thrashing of Schalke in September.
“He’s an exceptional talent,” said Germany coach Joachim Loew after watching Musiala in January.
Loew reportedly plans to give the teenager his first callup to the senior squad for Germany’s World Cup qualifiers against Iceland, Romania and North Macedonia at the end of March.
He might already be on the radar of Germany’s World Cup-winning coach, who steps down after the Euros, but Musiala is still chauffeured to and from Bayern training by his mother.
“I’m currently working towards getting my driving licence and I’m really looking forward to driving myself soon.”
His goal is to win a place in the national squad for the European Championship, where Germany face France, Portugal and Hungary in their group.
“I will definitely give everything in (Bayern’s) remaining games to get selected for the European Championship.”
Despite his dramatic rise, Musiala is still learning his trade and has started just seven games this season in all competitions.
He had to be content with an 11minute cameo on the wing as a replacement for Kingsley Coman in Bayern’s 3-1 win at Bremen on Saturday.
However, Bayern coach Hansi Flick clearly sees a bright future for the teenager.
“He’s good on the ball, has a good feeling for where he needs to be on the pitch and we are very pleased with him,” said Flick after Musiala’s goal in Rome.
He’s good on the ball, has a good feeling for where he needs to be on the pitch and we are very pleased with him.”
HANSI FLICK
Bayern coach
CP125 rookie Siti Norafizah Muhamad has set herself a target of finishing among the top-10 in the Petronas Malaysia Cub Prix Championship this season.
Norafizah. better known in the paddock by her nickname, Fifi, is one of three riders signed by fledgling outfit Tuneboss-Pink Racing for their debut season this year.
Fifi, 26, will be racing alongside the more experienced Harith Farhan Baharin in the intermediate class while youngster Norsyafiyah Alia Saarizan, 17, will race for the team in the entry level Wira class.
“I do have quite a bit of racing experience as I have competed in the ProAm category of Cub Prix before as well as the Wira class,” said Fifi, who hails from Johor.
“But this will be my first year in the CP125 category, so I have not set any lofty targets for myself for this season.
“The goal for me is to learn as much as possible and try to score points in every race.
“It would be good if I am able to finish in the top-10 this season.”
Meanwhile, former Yuzy Honda Racing rider Harith has set the bar higher for himself.
The Terengganu-born, however, admitted that he has a steep learning curve to overcome first.
“I have to thank Tuneboss-Pink Racing for this opportunity.
“This is the first time I will be racing for a Yamaha (powered) team and I will have to learn quickly because previously I had only raced on Hondas,” said Harith.
“My target for this year is to fight for podium positions and if all goes well possibly challenge for the overall (title).”
Harith won the Wira category overall title in 2015.
Tuneboss-Pink Racing — founded by Youtuber-turnedracer Nur Atikah Azwar — intend to encourage and develop women riders and mechanics in the sport. The new Cub Prix season is set to kick off at Sepang Circuit this weekend.
AT the beginning of the season, when PJ City FC announced an all-local line-up for the 2021 Super League, no one took them seriously.
Now in less than two weeks and after three Super League games, a lot of fans are sitting up and taking notice of the local boys.
Instead of an anticipated bad run, the Phoenix are proudly undefeated, third in the table behind Johor Darul Ta’zim and Terengganu.
This came after PJ City drew 00 with Perak, 2-2 with Melaka and beat Sabah 1-0.
While PJ City coach P. Maniam is pleased with their performance so far, he doesn’t want to jinx it by talking too much about their “feat”.
Nonetheless, he admitted that the unbeaten run has been a huge morale booster for the squad.
“We’ve gotten good results in our last three games. And in the last match (PJ City beat Sabah 10), we collected three points away. That’s due to our players’ commitment.”
Maniam said PJ City have done well, not just because of Darren Lok (the leading scorer in Super League with three goals) but also due to great efforts by captain K Gurusamy, goalkeeper Kalamullah Al-Hafiz Mat Rowi, Raffi Nagoorgani, K Prabakaran and Tamil Maran Manimaran.
“Our players attacked and defended well. That’s teamwork.
“The beauty of this team is that everyone wants to show that an all-local team can play against rivals who are backed by foreign players.”
Maniam said the PJ City team have a high work rate and he is glad to have signed committed players competing among themselves for the first 11,
He pointed out that young players like Jeremy Lim, 23, Sunil Chandran, 21, K Thivandaran, 22, and D. Kugan, 24, are hard working and adding vigour to the team.
“They know they will get the opportunity to play if they work hard enough because there isn’t any import in the team. They are motivated and they want to prove themselves.”
PJ City FC owner, Datuk Seri Vijay Eswaran, who wants to revive the “anak Malaysia” feeling in domestic football with his “all local content” for the league, said these early results have given them a positive outlook on things to come.
“We’ve been incredibly careful in our selection process, choosing the crème de la crème of Malaysian players.
“I’m a firm believer in our local talent which is the hallmark and ethos of our team.”
But today, PJ City’s unbeaten run in the league will be put to a stiff test when they travel to Alor Star to face Kedah.
Maniam admitted that his team’s unbeaten record is in danger unless they neutralise Kedah’s foreign attack of Rabih Ataya (Lebanon), Kpah Sherman (Liberia) and Tchetche Kipre (Ivory Coast).
“This is our second successive away match, it will be tough for us,” he said.
However, many local fans hope that PJ City’s ‘home brew’ can still give plenty of kicks up north.