Der Klassiker: Young stars Jamal Musiala and Jude Bellingham set to light up Bayern Munich vs. Borussia Dortmund
In addition to the competitive constellation, Der Klassiker will also be the stage for two of the most talented youngsters in world football to showcase their skills, with Jamal Musiala set to face Jude Bellingham in the centre of the Allianz Arena park.
Both have already made history for their respective clubs and could come of age even quicker in Saturday's clash of the titans.
Not that age has been an issue for either. Musiala became Bayern's youngest debutant when he took to the field aged 17 years, three months and 25 days in June 2020, although Paul Wanner has since broken that record. He did not take long to become the record champions' youngest ever goalscorer, just three months after his debut in September 2020.
Watch: Jamal Musiala making history with Bayern
He has since broken into double figures for goals, scoring his 10th in the recent win over Arminia Bielefeld to become – unsurprisingly – the youngest Bayern player to reach such a mark, and the fourth youngest across the league. The 18-year-old also holds the record for the youngest Bayern player to score two goals in a single game, while he is the German club's youngest player and goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League.
You do not set such records without being something special, and Musiala certainly is that. He has been in the matchday squad for 63 of 64 possible Bundesliga games since he made his debut, absent only once due to illness, while he has been involved in 27 of Bayern's 30 games so far this season. No wonder he was fitted out with a contract to 2026 in March 2021, with ears pricked all over the world.
Watch: Musiala on target in Bayern's latest Bundesliga win
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Bellingham is also pricking plenty of ears, with his move to Dortmund from Birmingham proving to be a masterstroke. His name is now one of the first on the Dortmund team-sheet – he has started 28 of 30 games this season, playing more minutes than any other BVB player so far this term.
It is not just the length of time Bellingham has spent on the field that has made him the most fouled player across the Bundesliga – he has simply been identified as the one to stop by Dortmund's opponents, who have resorted to unfair means to dispossess him 78 times, often to bring an end to one of his 58 dribbles, of which 66 per cent have proven successful.
With the ball at his feet, BVB's box-to-box midfielder is becoming increasingly effective, breaking into double figures this season for direct involvements in goals (three scored, seven assisted). This is more than double the return of his first campaign in German football and is increasing by the game as he moves from the periphery to the pith of Dortmund's exciting attacking football.
Like Musiala, Bellingham has set records along the way, becoming the second-youngest player in Bundesliga history to reach 50 appearances, after Florian Wirtz, and Dortmund's youngest ever goalscorer when he struck on his debut in the first round of the DFB Cup in 2020, although Youssoufa Moukoko has since snatched that record. He nevertheless remains Dortmund's youngest goalscorer in the DFB Cup and the UEFA Champions League, the latter after opening his account against Manchester City in 2021.
Watch: Bellingham and Dortmund's young guns
With over 1,000 more minutes on the field this season than Musiala, Bellingham has had more time to make an impact – and that is precisely why he joined Dortmund. "The chance to play for Dortmund came and I didn’t really hesitate," he said in an interview with Xbox. "Not one second have I ever regretted it or thought 'this is too hard for me'. I want to rise to the challenge every single day I am there."
He and Musiala have both risen so well to the challenges they have faced, they are now almost guaranteed a place in their respective country's squads for the winter's FIFA World Cup – barring injury – and the latest Klassiker provides another peak at what lies in store for a global audience in Qatar in November, with Germany and England's respective top talents taking centre stage.
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