Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala admits he still gets a little nervous before matches

Jamal Musiala has been on a rapidly ascending upward trajectory ever since he burst onto the scene for Bayern Munich last season after making his first team debut during the 2019/2020, treble-winning season under Hansi Flick.

Musiala found the back of the net seven times last season from a total of 39 appearances across all competitions and he’s already netted four times this season and has provided three assists. He also made his senior debut for the German national team prior to the Euros after he had made the decision to commit his international future to Germany instead of England since he technically had duel citizenship in that respect. Musiala even scored his first goal with the Germany national team against North Macedonia.

It’s all happened quite fast for the youngster that Leroy Sane nicknamed “Bambi,” and he’s showed no signs of slowing down any time soon. In a recent interview with kicker, even Musiala said that sometimes he really has to sit back and take time to fully digest just how quickly his career has taken a sharp turn into becoming one of Europe’s most promising young talents. “It’s amazing how quickly everything went. Sometimes I need a few minutes to check it all out,” he said. Surely, at times, he’ll have to pinch himself to remind himself that all of this is actually happening, and it’s not just a dream.

Getting thrust into the senior team, especially for big matches, can be a huge adjustment for a young player like Musiala, but he’s worked incredibly hard to make sure he’s always mentally prepared for those big moments. He works twice a month with neurocentric trainer Steffen Tepel to fine tune certain things like his balance, vision, coordination, injury prevention and regeneration. Like teammate Robert Lewandowski, he’s also looked at different ways to better the quality of his sleep and really zero in on what works best for him nutritionally. “I worked very early on to be mentally ready for games. That gives me stability,” Musiala said.

Photo by S. Widmann/Getty Images for FC Bayern

Even though, at this point, Musiala is well accustomed to life in the senior squad for both Bayern and Die Mannschaft, Musiala admitted that he still gets nerves before matches, but is completely comfortable on the pitch. “I’m a little nervous before games, but very calm on the field,” he revealed. Judging by his performances for both club and country, a little bit of nerves pre-match seem to be highly beneficial for him, and he doesn’t show any sort of nervousness on the pitch. Rater, he shows a complete fearlessness on the ball, which is part of what makes him so entertaining to watch on the ball.