Jamal Musiala’s achievements are becoming so plentiful that Andrew Martin, the head of football at Whitgift School, may soon have to commandeer another section of wall to list them.
On Tuesday night, Musiala became the youngest player in Bayern Munich history to score in the Champions League, netting the club’s second in a 4-1 thrashing of Lazio in the last 16.
At the time, he was also the youngest English goalscorer in the competition too, although he has now made it clear that his international future lies with Germany and not the country he called home since the age of seven.
Add to that, becoming Bayern’s youngest ever Bundesliga player and the club’s all-time youngest goalscorer – the mind boggles when you consider those he has pipped to both crowns – and it’s clear that Germany have a very special talent on their hands. Little wonder that Martin is full of admiration for a force of nature who followed in the footsteps of Callum Hudson-Odoi in this corner of Croydon and only turns 18 on Friday.
“When we had Jamal (between Year 7 and Year 9, when he left to join Chelsea’s full-time programme) he was a goalscorer, an out and out number nine,” says Martin, a former Crystal Palace player who works alongside four-time Eagles’ manager Steve Kember at a school that also nurtured the talents of Danny Cipriani and Jason Roy.
“In one game we won 10-1 and he scored eight of them. He scored goals for fun. When you see what he’s doing now, there’s a huge sense of pride for myself. It’s a huge source of pride for the school as well.
“I usually check the Bayern team an hour before kick-off to see if he’s in the side. If he’s playing then I’ll try and watch it live and if I can’t I’ll make sure I catch the highlights.
“We’ve got pictures of the guys around the school. We’ve been lucky enough that Callum has been back on numerous occasions to give assemblies – he took a training session before the boy’s played in a national final too.
“Unfortunately Jamal hasn’t been able to get back as a result of the pandemic but I’m sure as soon as he can travel, then he’ll be back here talking to those guys that want to follow in his footsteps.”
Musiala’s journey from his home town of Stuttgart to England and then back again, is hardly an average tale.
The son of a German mother and an English-Nigerian father, the Bayern prodigy arrived here at the age of seven and caught the eye of Southampton before moving to Chelsea and beginning his schooling at Whitgift.
He was in safe hands at an establishment which has become synonymous with developing talent.
In all, as many as 18 professional footballers have come through its doors – including the likes of Victor Moses, last seen on loan at Spartak Moscow from Chelsea, and Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore.
Since 2012, the school has won as many as 14 national titles across its age-group sides.
It’s a stunning record. And the emergence of Musiala, coupled with the continued progress of Hudson-Odoi at Stamford Bridge, is only adding to Whitgift’s reputation.
“Callum (Hudson-Odoi) was more of a creator, he could do everything,” says Martin. “He could go short and could go long, he could get up and down the pitch.
“The close-quarter skills of both were incredible, though. And if you look at their shooting ability, they were venomous from long and short-range.
“I wouldn’t say they were similar when they were both at the school but as they get older they seem to be gravitating towards the same position. They both did alright in the classroom too. Jamal was probably slightly more academic than Callum but both did well.
“I think they’re showing that you can be academic and still make it as a footballer. There was a tie when you just had Frank Lampard at Brentwood School, now you’ve got probably over 50 kids who have come from an independent school playing in the professional game.
“We’re obviously able to offer scholarships but that’s the be and end-all. You see clubs spending millions on players and getting it wrong and it’s the same principle in operation here.
“Once they’re here you have to get them to gel with everyone else. They can’t be giving it the big I am, or be a big-time Charlie, they have to buy into the system and our philosophy.
“We set very high standards and Jamal hit those standards throughout the time he was here.”
Having matched the standards, he’s now hitting the heights. Germany should treasure him.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3aNTW9l
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