Jamal Musiala, the shy 'Bambi' who became the world's best teenager

Jamal Musiala was nicknamed 'Bambi' by teammates when he first joined Bayern Munich from Chelsea. Now, the hopes of a nation hang on his young shoulders.

Musiala joined Bayern from Chelsea for just €1 million as a bright-eyed 17-year-old in the summer of 2020, and while his talent was never in question, his leadership skills if not his match-winning ability might have been.

Leroy Sane joined Bayern from Manchester City in a €49m deal that same summer, and while Musiala was tagged as one for the future, Sane's signing was meant to be an era-defining one; one that proved the German champions could still sign top players from the Premier League's best sides.

It was from this position that Sane game Musiala the 'Bambi' nickname. He meant it as testament to his ability to play beyond his years, but there was a negative, if not deliberate, connotation attached.

Now, two-and-half short seasons later, Musiala has overtaken Sane for club and country, and indeed every other young player in the game in terms of his top level output.

Musiala scored 12 goals and assisted 10 more in the first half of the season with Bayern, his goal-involvements coming in at a rate of one every 63 minutes he has played, and it was his assist for Niklas Fullkrug that kept German's World Cup hopes alive with a 1-1 draw against Spain.

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"I like his approach to all challenges, the fact that he says 'hey, I want to be the best player in the world!'" said Bayern president Herbert Hainer recently. "That's the real Mia San Mia. At the age of 19 he quickly embodied it here with us. Last year he was called the shy Bambi - that's over now."

Lothar Matthaus - a World Cup winner with Germany at Italia '90 - went one further, describing Musiala as the "next Messi." That may be hyperbolic praise, but Musiala is certainly outperforming other teenagers.

Gav over

Barcelona youngster Gavi succeeded his teammate Pedri as European football's Golden Boy in October, but Musiala has scored more top-flight goals in the first half of this season than the Spain duo have put together in their careers so far.

And Musiala is, like Gavi and Pedri, a midfielder who shouldn't normally be posting the aforementioned numbers.

Musiala's former England under-21 teammate - the Bayern man changed his international allegiance to Germany in 2021 - Jude Bellingham deserves a mention here. Bellingham has already led Borussia Dortmund out in the Champions League, and looks to have a similarly high ceiling.

But is looks to be a two-horse race between those for the title of the game's best young teenager - despite what Tuttosport say - and Musiala has already proved he has gone from Bambi to thoroughbred.