Jamal Musiala’s family moved to Fulda when he was 2 years old. Here, the boy joined TSV Lehnerz, a famous youth training facility with a tradition of producing talent.

Jamal Musiala’s journey from a boy playing football on a rough pitch on the outskirts of Fulda to Germany’s rising star at EURO 2024 is an emotional tale of natural talent and extraordinary will to succeed.

Back at the old TSV Lehnerz stadium, where Musiala took his first steps with a round ball, we can meet Bastian Stumpf, one of the first coaches of the German star. In response to the journalists, Stumpf shared interesting things about his talented student.

“Musiala always played better than his peers,” Stumpf recalls. “When he was 4 years old, he had to play with the 6-year-old team. By the age of 6, he was playing for the U11 team.”

The football field of that year still retains its wild appearance, as a testament to an extraordinary journey. Few people can imagine that from this rough land, an outstanding talent was nurtured.

Jamal Musiala (front row, far right) with his childhood teammates at TSV Lehnerz.

Dejan Milenkovski, Jamal Musiala’s former teammate at TSV, still vividly remembers his friend’s magical dribbling: “Every game, he would dribble past three, four, even five opposing players. He was like dancing on the pitch.”

Branko, Dejan’s father and long-time coach at TSV, added: “From an early age, we recognized his special potential. He is always the smallest player on the field but possesses excellent technique and tactical vision.”

The story of Musiala moving to England with his family at the age of 7, joining the youth academy of Southampton and Chelsea, and then returning to Germany to play for Bayern Munich is well known.

Fulda, the beautiful city that nurtured the talent of the prodigy Musiala.

However, few people mention his childhood at Fulda, where his love of football was nurtured and his natural talent was nurtured. Musiala’s family moved to Fulda when he was 2 years old. Here, the boy joined TSV Lehnerz, a famous youth training facility with a tradition of producing talent.

“Musiala was so good that opponents could only stop him by fouling him ,” Dejan recalls. “I still remember the game when Musiala received the ball in his own half and dribbled past five or six opponents. Unfortunately, he was fouled badly.”

Musiala is now the gem of the German team on the journey to conquer EURO 2024.

Even though he no longer lives in Fulda, Musiala still remembers the place where he grew up. In 2023, he returned here to launch the Musiala Team Foundation and was awarded by the mayor the honor of signing Fulda’s Golden Book. Previously, in 2017, Musiala also took his children back to visit their old school and review beautiful memories.

“Not every student has progress in their career like Musiala ,” Christoph Schulte, his former homeroom teacher, shared, “But I know for sure that, with his passion and talent, Musiala will go even further.”

From the home field to the EURO 2024 spotlight, Jamal Musiala’s extraordinary leap is the fruit of talent, will and love of football. German football fans can fully expect a brilliant future for the “treasure” they own.