Weekend Warm-up: Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala says he is ahead of schedule; Max Eberl not going to Saudi Arabia; Bundesliga predictions; and MORE!

Bayern Munich’s future for the next four years is linked directly to Jamal Musiala.

In 2025, the club gave Musiala the kind of contract that represents his importance to the team and its future — it was a sign that Musiala had graduated from young star to foundational piece for a club managing a generational transition.

Everything lined up perfectly…until Musiala took a hit from Gianluigi Donnarumma at the Club World Cup, which left the Germany international with a broken left leg and a dislocated an ankle. This was a devastating injury to say the least, but the youngster did make his comeback in January.

The results have been mixed. Some attribute a longer acclimation period being needed to get back to up to his previous form, while others say Musiala came back to early — especially at a time where the club did not necessarily need him.

Whatever the case, Musiala has had some ups-and-downs, but has also left some fans concerned about his game fits in with Harry Kane, Michael Olise, and Luis Díaz. In Musiala’s absence, Serge Gnabry and Lennart Karl excelled in the No. 10 role by being supporting parts to the greater machine, but that is not necessarily Musiala’s game. It is fair to wonder if Musiala can make the necessary adjustments to become a better fit with his attacking mates, but there is also no reason to think that he cannot do it either.

To the 23-year-old, the season has gone as he thought it would. In fact, he is happy to be ahead of schedule.

“I don’t know, it’s hard to say. I think I’ve had good spells, sometimes not so good spells, which is perfectly normal. I think it was good to get back into the rhythm and into the team. As I’ve already said: I’m really happy with what I’ve been able to achieve. I know there are still steps forward, what I can do, what’s still missing from last season. But I think I’m very, very satisfied with where I expected to be months ago and where I am now,” Musiala told Sky Germany (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “I had support from so many people, advice and things I could and shouldn’t do. In the end, you just have to follow your path; patience is definitely the most important thing.”

Musiala also said that he has had difficulty with staying calm as he adapts to some of the physical limitations that he has had and with feeling that his game not progressing as quicky as he would like. When asked specifically about how hard it was to stay patient, Musiala gave a candid response.

“Very, very, because I actually want to get back to my previous level as quickly as possible. That simply requires patience, even though I’m in every game. You can see that sometimes something’s missing, in some games you don’t see it. But I’m very happy with the support I have and just want to look ahead,” Musiala remarked.

The true window for what the new version of what Musiala is as a player, will likely not be revealed until January or February, which sounds like a long time from the point of the injury, but it is normal. The next few months are all about the work that Musiala can do to get back to where he previously was.

The problem? At a time, where he will need a mix of rest, recovery, and intense work, Musiala will almost assuredly head to North America for the World Cup. A grueling, physically taxing tournament that could be a problem for a player like Musiala, who is still looking to get right.

At this stage, it could be considered a risk, but there is very little chance that Musiala would sit this one out.

Even with a condensed summer, there is a good chance that Musiala can manage things physically and mentally, so he can continue to progress. However, there is also a chance that this version of Musiala is as good as it will get — maybe a small chance, but a chance nonetheless.

The one positive toward Musiala’s situation is that both Gnabry and Karl proved they were up to the task of fitting into the attacking group and being productive players. If something bad was to happen to Musiala, the club does have coverage.

However, the larger, tougher question for Bayern Munich fans is, “What happens if this is as good as it gets or if Musiala suffers a setback?” That is tough to answer, but it would represent some incredibly bad luck for the Bavarians, who are financially tied to Musiala through 2030.

The next six-and-a-half months will provide Musiala, the club, and fans the answers needed to assess things. While everyone is hoping to see the dangerous, lethal version of Musiala that Bayern Munich had before the injury, there is still a long way to go — and even though the player himself has struggled with this topic, patience is still going to be needed from all.

Song of the Week: “B.Y.O.B” by System of a Down

We have featured different songs from System of a Down here before, but, in truth, they were an underplayed band from the early 00’s. Head back to 2005 for this NSFW (language) song during a pretty chaotic time in the music landscape:

Eberl denies Saudi report

Earlier this week, there was a bizarre report out of Saudi Arabia, which indicated that Bayern Munich board member for sport Max Eberl had discussions about a sporting role with Al-Ittihad.

Eberl had a laugh and then denied the report.

“I thought about replying with a joke, but I’m not sure everyone will understand. I was once in Saudi Arabia with the German U-18 national team, that was my experience in Saudi Arabia. Everything else is out of this world. A lot is being written along those lines. But no,” said Eberl (as captured by @iMiaSanMia).

It would have been a wild career decision, but as AC/DC once belted out, money talks.

I will shamelessly use any chance to jam some AC/DC in on a Friday.

Entertainment Rundown

The Boys

I’m nearly done and won’t review it until I am fully complete, but this season has been a slog and I’ll be glad when it is over.

After this, I’ll start Daredevil and mix in that Punisher one-off.

Predictions

Bayern Munich will likely start its regulars and FC Köln likely has one eye on Ibiza or some other exotic locale. Let’s keep it simple and neat before the DFB-Pokal. Vincent Kompany will give his starters some run, they’ll pour it on, and the beer showers will commence.

Prediction: Bayern Munich 5-0 FC Köln

Other Bundesliga predictions include:

Heidenheim 2-1 Mainz 05
St. Pauli 1-2 VfL Wolfsburg
Union Berlin 1-2 FC Augsburg
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-3 Hoffenheim
Werder Bremen 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
SC Freiburg 1-2 RB Leipzig
Eintracht Frankfurt 2-4 VfB Stuttgart
Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 Hamburger SV

Prediction Records

Total: 528-346
Perfect Picks: 55
Bundesliga Last Matchday: 5-4
Bundesliga Overall: 164-133
DFB-Pokal: 51-11
World Cup Qualifiers/Friendlies: 164-95
Champions League: 100-80
Club World Cup: 39-23
Club Friendlies: 4-0
Franz Beckenbauer Supercup: 1-0

If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…