The big dream in the giant duel
For 90 minutes, FC Bayern meets the golden future
By Tobias Nordmann
September 25, 2024, 8:28 p.m
Jamal Musiala against Florian Wirtz: Before the league clash between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, no duel is more electrifying – after all, it could be one of the last of the two DFB stars. The future of the exceptional players is completely open.
FC Bayern fights and dreams. He is fighting for a shared future with the exceptional talent Jamal Musiala. And dreams of bringing the little big magician Florian Wirtz to Munich. In the perfect world of FC Bayern, the greatest hopes of German football will soon be wearing the same jersey, no longer just in the national team, but also at club level. “Wusiala” is FC Bayern’s hot fever dream. This Saturday it will come true, at least in part. In the Allianz Arena, the two 21-year-olds are on the pitch in the top game of the Bundesliga. Musiala wants to straighten out the balance of power with the Munich team and push champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen off cloud nine.
Things aren’t particularly harmonious on cloud nine at the moment anyway. The Leverkusen team is already alarmed in the early phase of the season. Although the offensive around the unstoppable Wirtz is doing great again, the other parts of the team are not (yet) right. The outstanding team of last season, which only suffered a defeat in the final of the Europa League, has not yet found its feet. Which is astonishing from a sporting point of view, because the squad has actually gotten better rather than worse. With Aleix Garcia, Martin Terrier, Jeanuel Belocian and Nordi Mukiele, great quality was added, with Odilon Kossounou and Josip Stanisic only two players who were in regular action left.
And still it doesn’t fit. After last weekend’s wild 4-3 win against VfL Wolfsburg, captain Granit He said, among other things, that he missed greed and grit. After an incredible season like the last one, this is probably a logical sign of mental fatigue. He wanted to wake up the team and received support from his coach Xabi Alonso. The time to wake up couldn’t be better. Because FC Bayern is not only willing to put things back together so that the center of power in German football returns to Säbener Straße. But FC Bayern is also in the shape to do that.
“Wusiala” is shaking up Europe
At least from what we’ve seen so far. Last week alone, the Munich team scored 20 (!) goals in three games. Holstein Kiel, Dinamo Zagreb and Werder Bremen were bathed in the furore of new coach Vincent Kompany’s team. Well, here you find the only fly in the ointment: FC Bayern’s opponents have not yet been served from the top shelf. It was different for Bayer Leverkusen, who already had VfB Stuttgart (victory on penalties in the Supercup) and RB Leipzig (defeat in the Bundesliga) on their plate. But FC Bayern’s hunger is all the greater to show it against the double winner led by long-time player Wirtz. And even though there will be so much international class on the field (from 6.30 p.m. on Sky and in the live ticker on ntv.de), the game is only focused on the duel between the exceptional talents.
And the two, who finally captivated the country as “Wusiala” at the home European Championships in the summer, are already in outstanding shape. Musiala has scored three goals and assisted three more in six games for FC Bayern. In the Nations League, wearing a DFB uniform, he recently made his frustration clear about not being on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or this year. Against Hungary he was involved in four goals and gave the footballing middle finger to criticism of the lack of effectiveness. On the list, however, is Wirtz, who played dizzyingly in Europe last season. He’s already doing brilliantly and has six goals and one assist in seven games. He just made his debut in the Champions League and immediately made history. He was the first German to score a brace at the premiere.
So what else should excite people more about this giant duel than the duel between the two magicians? Of course, FC Bayern still has new signing Michael Olise, whose exciting style of play is already fueling big dreams as the successor to the eternally revered legends Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben. And at Leverkusen it is Victor Boniface, the storm giant, who recently caused ecstasy with an incredible assist in the Champions League. The Nigerian indicated a shot and played a pass with the other foot. You have to see the scene to understand why there was so much magic in it. There really is a lot of extra class on display.
“Magic summit of the two high flyers”
But the duel between Musiala and Wirtz draws its appeal from several sources. Not just because the country’s great hopes (want to) perform magic in a direct duel. Musiala is looking forward to Saturday and the fight against his friend Wirtz with great joy. “We are good friends, we write to each other and have good contact,” says the super dribbler. There is already talk of the “magic summit of the two high-flyers” (“Sport Bild”). For at least 90 minutes, the big thing in Munich will not be Oktoberfest, but rather this game, which enjoys an even greater international focus than the beer-heavy event on Theresienwiese, which causes nasty surprises in the world of celebrities every year.
It doesn’t take much imagination to imagine that “Wusiala” would like to chase the title together. And that on a weekly basis and not just every few years with the national team. And so FC Bayern is working with great passion to fulfill the dream of a super duo. First of all, all efforts are focused on tying Musiala to the club for a long time. His current working paper runs until the summer of 2026. And the player has all the trump cards in this poker in his hand. The competition from Europe has long been keeping more than one eye on the super dribbler, who was once trained at Chelsea FC. The Premier League could be a lucrative destination for the former England youth international not just because of the connection. The best football is played in England and there is big money to be made here.
“Elegance of the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev”
But it is still up to FC Bayern to shape the golden future. In initial discussions with Max Eberl and Christoph Freund, the sporting bosses are said to have made it clear to Musiala that he was seen as the legitimate successor to Thomas Müller in the position behind the top at FC Bayern. A great comparison, a great honor. At the same time, perhaps somewhat secondary, it’s about Wirtz. He still has a valid working document in Leverkusen until 2027, but he would probably be available next summer for a transfer fee of supposedly 150 million euros. There are two gigantic financial feats ahead for the people of Munich. But it would be grossly negligent to miss the opportunity for “Wusiala” to be the new dominant duo of the 2020s.
Football Germany must be “very happy” about the two, Toni Kroos recently said in his podcast. Wirtz and Musiala are players who have been “craved for years” in Germany: “They will have to support us in the next few years, they will have to win the games for us in the next few years.” Both are professionals “who can turn a seemingly harmless situation into a dangerous one – all by themselves.” Michael Reschke, who worked for Bayer and Bayern, also sees “Wusiala” as “unique footballers to fall in love with, two fantastic gifts for German football.” Wirtz, said the former top official in “Kicker,” was “a hurricane-like force of nature. Musiala exudes the elegance of the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev.” For at least 90 minutes, FC Bayern will get a glimpse of their golden future in their own arena this Saturday evening, albeit in the wrong jerseys.
