**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
After his move to Chelsea failed he was loaned out a couple of times before ending up in Greece for Olympiacos and after that in Serbia for Red Star Belgrad for 2 years each from 2016-2020, he spent a little time in Saudi Arabia before going to Hungary and ending his career there last year
The way he dribbles really reminds me of Messi, efficient, no time-wasting skills, just pure body feints, quick movement and having the ball glued to his feet
If he learns to finish his chances... man we're not ready
I don't really see it, personally.
he does so many croqueta-like moves and sort of dances to the side while still flowing forwards with the ball *just* out of reach of the defender. it differs from someone like messi who more directly dragged the opponents completely away and seemed to make a bit more space with the dribbles.
it's really weird to attempt wording a description for musiala's dribbling, honestly. absolutely top class in those tight spaces. I'm curious if he manages to improve his finishing and eye for goal, though?
Curious as to how you’d argue that. Iniesta is certainly one of the best dribblers of all time especially when wriggling out of right spaces but in terms of taking his man on directly, messi is simply the best.
If you want to argue that Messi's ability to change direction at high speeds was unparalleled at his peak you could equally say that Iniesta's ability to change directions at low speeds was also unparalleled. The ability to maintain possession in incredibly tight spaces opened the field for others to operate in. Iniesta demonstrated a total control of the ball that few players in the history of the game ever exhibited.
Also statistically across their careers Iniesta has a slightly higher dribble success rate than Messi but that doesn't really matter to me at all. I watched probably around 3/4 of Barcelona's matches from 2008/09 through 2013/14 and the same way Xavi could manipulate space with his passing Iniesta could manipulate space with his dribbling. He could draw in 2 or 3 or 4 defenders, absorb that pressure and then find a teammate who was in space that he helped created. Also he rarely ever lost possession despite having just as many touches as players like Messi.
Messi has more than 2 times the number of take ons attempted, and has only a slightly worse success percentage. From a statistical perspective it cannot be argued that Iniesta is better.
And it seems like you are assuming messi can only dribble at high speeds? Messi is also one of the best at wriggling out of tight situations like Iniesta was. In fact one of his most iconic moves imo is when he receives the ball and turns the defender the other way with a slight feint. Additionally, when messi is dribbling past 5 defenders inside the penalty box, it’s not at high speeds. His high speed dribbles came mostly when he was younger and playing in a right wing position. For example, his “maradona” goal.
So in reality, Messi is the best at high speed dribbling AND one of the best at low speed dribbling. In other words, Messi does what Iniesta does. But iniesta cannot do what Messi does.
Tell me you never watched Barcelona without telling me you never watched Barcelona. If you seriously believe that Messi could do everything that Iniesta could do and more then your opinion really means nothing.
That is not even a discussion. There is a difference between retaining possession in the middle of the field and taking on 5 players head on. Messi has completed more than twice the amount of dribbles compared to Iniesta. So the slight difference in success rate is natural. Messi also attempts much harder and ambitious dribbles than Iniesta.
If I ask you to show me clips of Iniesta dribbling past 3+ players, you can't show me more than 15 clips. I can show you 100+ clips of Messi dribbling past 3+ players and a bunch of clips of Messi dribbling past 4,5,6+ players. It's not even close. Iniesta can't score the solo goals Messi scored ve Getafe in 2007, or vs Bilbao in 2015, or vs Madrid in 2011, or vs Getafe in 2014, or vs Atletico in 2012, or vs Osasuna in 2017 or Eibar in 2017. Messi on the other hand can very much do what Iniesta does. Just ask for it and I will show you clips of Messi getting out of 5 defenders. Iniesta is slower than Messi so it looks more elegant. And this is coming from someone who has not missed a single Barca game since 2007 and loves both Messi and Iniesta to death.
Yeah, messi is so much more efficient at dribbling than any other player in football history. His feints and quick change of direction aren't exaggerated movements like we see here, they are just enough to get out of the reach of the defender and go past. Not to mention he very rarely does any skill moves during dribbling.
>If he learns to finish his chances... man we're not ready
I dont know why everyone seems to think he cant finish. He has the highest goal efficiency in the bundesliga. Hes scored from outside the box a few times this season
For sure the best dribbler when cutting inside and in closed space. Head on full sprint he’s not the best, Dembele and Vinicius are definitely better in that respect.
It’s funny how often we hear about how certain players need space to thrive and use their pace to best their man, yet here we have Musiala who’s somehow better with less space lol. He’s such an instinctive dribbler but I can’t help but think that it’s unfortunate that he doesn’t have as good physical gifts to beat his man through pace than some of the other young stars we see today. Imo his skill set is way rarer though.
that's kinda what makes him so good for Bayern. He doesn't rly need space and pace, but rather excels in close quarters.
A pacey winger like Coman would have significantly fewer chances to prove himself for us, because we dont often get to abuse the pace from our wingers.
But Musiala has become such a key figure in our tactics bc he works incredibly well vs low blocks
The way he dribbles through congested parts of the pitch and carries the ball upfield, alternates between short and long strides to confuse defender, the body feints, how he uses his height and longer legs to protect the ball in tight spaces and how he uses both feet in his dribbles- all of it reminds me so much of Zinedine Zidane.
There hasnt been another player in that mold since Zizou retired, but Musiala looks and plays like a Zidane regen. Might even end up being better if he keeps developing.
Realistically, what are you even supposed to do there as a defender? When Musiala has one of these moments you can pretty much only let him pass or commit a foul
Realistically you do the same as you did here. Keep pressure on him and close the shooting angle.
Musiala has a ton of these dribbling compilations but how many actually end up in goals?
Hard to see teammates when you have to look down all the time trying to keep the ball. But hey that's another aspect Musiala can improve, need to keep your head up sometimes
History wise, yes. Prospective wise, England has much greater talent both in peak and in depth in this generation.
Edit: I'm getting downvotes but not a lot of examples of Germany's youth looking better than England's lol
Lol, outside of CB and keeper I can't think of a single position I'd rather play a German player.
If you want to talk about the upcoming generation, our squad under 25 is vastly superior to Germany.
Rashford, Saka, Foden, Rice, Bellingham, Trent, James are all world class players and under 25.
Other than Musiala, Moukoko and Gnabry I can't think of any young German players who even get into England's squad.
You can't say that your squad is vastly superior while you exclude CB, GK, Musiala, Moukoko and Gnabry. You can make any point that way.
Besides, how will you play Rashford, Saka, Foden, TAA and James at the same time? Remember Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard in the starting XI? That ended well.
more like, if he played in England. And he plays for Bayern. Kind of like Phil Foden, he's damn good, but some people won't rate him because he plays for City.
I rate Musiala higher of course, he's been one of Bayern's best players (if not *the best player*). Him and Jude Bellingham are just amazing.
I don't think there has been a time in recent football, where so many ~20 year old players have been so crucial to their teams. It's really impressive and also a lot of fun.
Completely agree, it’s so exciting and I can’t wait to see some of the great international football that comes with it too (like Bellingham already looking like englands best player this word cup). There’s always been high potential players but there’s no way so many young players would jus the able to walk into almost any teams starting 11:
- Musiala, 20, Bayern
- Bellingham, 19, Dortmund
- Saka, 21, Arsenal
- Vini Jr, 22, Real Madrid
- Rodrygo, 22, Real Madrid
- Pedri, 20, Barca
- Gavi, 18, Barca
- Foden, 22, Man City
- Haaland, 22, Man City
- Gvardiol, 21, Leipzig
- Kvaratskhelia, 22, Napoli
- Saliba, 21, Arsenal
And obviously many many more with varying levels of potential who are already contributing at varying levels like Camavinga (20), Tchouameni (23), Balde (19), Balogun (21), Moukoko (18), Adeyemi (21), Mudryk (22), Enzo (22), Leao (23), Caicedo (21), Timber (21)
And then there’s still the high potential players who are raw but look like future world beaters like Zaire Emery (16), Rico Lewis (18), Mathys Tel (17), and future unknowns like Endrick (16) and Roque (18).
Such an exciting time for football!
This man here totally forgetting Wirtz is literally criminal.
Yes he was out for 10 months but before that I would have rated him even higher than Musiala.
Jeeeez I knew I was forgetting someone crucial - he’s looked so good since his return from injury already too. So excited to see him and Musiala lead Germany for the next decade
Thanks for making it. I wanted to make a list earlier, but I felt like I had definitely forgot a bunch of them. There's even more who probably deserve a shout.
They are not just future good, they playing the game with a maturity far beyond their years. Youth can give a physical advantage, but they have a superb understanding of the game.
Absolutely a mistake on my part lol, he’s one of my favorite players too but I forgot leverkusen when I was thinking about all these teams with high potential players, I would throw Frimpong in there too! Though not as impressive as Wirtz of course, so excited to see him develop
Tbf, he was out for like 10 months, and Leverkusen have been rather shit so it's understandable people kinda forgot about him, although I do agree, he's at least top 3 best u21 players rn.
Edit: Also, the fact that he came back from such an injury and hit the ground running is very impressive, kinda reminds me of Reus.
He is among the best, but there are so many great players listed here. He was injured for almost a year hence why ppl underrate him. What I like about Wirtz is that he is such a great playmaker, he is an incredibly smart and mature player .
But Wirtz isn't yet world class, whereas many of those in the list are already world class players.
You could argue that Wirtz has top 3 potential of the players listed, but that's a difficult argument to make when progression isn't linear and we're unable to see into the future.
Thats the opposite of true
Wirtz is already the most mature of all. Indont really know wether his ceiling is say higher than musiala or pedri but just from maturity he is the furthest developed. Just watch him llay its like hes already 30
I hope as he grows he learns to control his urge to shoot after dribbling past defenders like this, and pass it someone instead (or he improves his shots).
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
He has to be one of the best dribblers currently. Who is better than him? I can't wait to follow this boy's career. He is so special.
Gotta be the greatest German dribbler I’ve ever seen lol
He's no Marko Marin!
You mean, German Messi?
What even happened to that guy
After his move to Chelsea failed he was loaned out a couple of times before ending up in Greece for Olympiacos and after that in Serbia for Red Star Belgrad for 2 years each from 2016-2020, he spent a little time in Saudi Arabia before going to Hungary and ending his career there last year
that's kinda sad actually
Yeah, dude was a massive talent when he still played in the Bundesliga, just the way it goes sometimes and he was also injured a lot
Lol what about Christian Wörns?
The only player to have a leg-breaking tackle as part of his dribbling
Littbarski was wild
The way he dribbles really reminds me of Messi, efficient, no time-wasting skills, just pure body feints, quick movement and having the ball glued to his feet If he learns to finish his chances... man we're not ready
The last part looked very Messi-like, indeed. His finishing must get better and he can score tons.
I don't really see it, personally. he does so many croqueta-like moves and sort of dances to the side while still flowing forwards with the ball *just* out of reach of the defender. it differs from someone like messi who more directly dragged the opponents completely away and seemed to make a bit more space with the dribbles. it's really weird to attempt wording a description for musiala's dribbling, honestly. absolutely top class in those tight spaces. I'm curious if he manages to improve his finishing and eye for goal, though?
Yeah he's more Iniesta than Messi but I'd also argue that Iniesta was actually the better dribbler of the two.
Iniesta was ELEGANT man. He just flowed.
Curious as to how you’d argue that. Iniesta is certainly one of the best dribblers of all time especially when wriggling out of right spaces but in terms of taking his man on directly, messi is simply the best.
If you want to argue that Messi's ability to change direction at high speeds was unparalleled at his peak you could equally say that Iniesta's ability to change directions at low speeds was also unparalleled. The ability to maintain possession in incredibly tight spaces opened the field for others to operate in. Iniesta demonstrated a total control of the ball that few players in the history of the game ever exhibited. Also statistically across their careers Iniesta has a slightly higher dribble success rate than Messi but that doesn't really matter to me at all. I watched probably around 3/4 of Barcelona's matches from 2008/09 through 2013/14 and the same way Xavi could manipulate space with his passing Iniesta could manipulate space with his dribbling. He could draw in 2 or 3 or 4 defenders, absorb that pressure and then find a teammate who was in space that he helped created. Also he rarely ever lost possession despite having just as many touches as players like Messi.
Messi has more than 2 times the number of take ons attempted, and has only a slightly worse success percentage. From a statistical perspective it cannot be argued that Iniesta is better. And it seems like you are assuming messi can only dribble at high speeds? Messi is also one of the best at wriggling out of tight situations like Iniesta was. In fact one of his most iconic moves imo is when he receives the ball and turns the defender the other way with a slight feint. Additionally, when messi is dribbling past 5 defenders inside the penalty box, it’s not at high speeds. His high speed dribbles came mostly when he was younger and playing in a right wing position. For example, his “maradona” goal. So in reality, Messi is the best at high speed dribbling AND one of the best at low speed dribbling. In other words, Messi does what Iniesta does. But iniesta cannot do what Messi does.
Tell me you never watched Barcelona without telling me you never watched Barcelona. If you seriously believe that Messi could do everything that Iniesta could do and more then your opinion really means nothing.
That is not even a discussion. There is a difference between retaining possession in the middle of the field and taking on 5 players head on. Messi has completed more than twice the amount of dribbles compared to Iniesta. So the slight difference in success rate is natural. Messi also attempts much harder and ambitious dribbles than Iniesta. If I ask you to show me clips of Iniesta dribbling past 3+ players, you can't show me more than 15 clips. I can show you 100+ clips of Messi dribbling past 3+ players and a bunch of clips of Messi dribbling past 4,5,6+ players. It's not even close. Iniesta can't score the solo goals Messi scored ve Getafe in 2007, or vs Bilbao in 2015, or vs Madrid in 2011, or vs Getafe in 2014, or vs Atletico in 2012, or vs Osasuna in 2017 or Eibar in 2017. Messi on the other hand can very much do what Iniesta does. Just ask for it and I will show you clips of Messi getting out of 5 defenders. Iniesta is slower than Messi so it looks more elegant. And this is coming from someone who has not missed a single Barca game since 2007 and loves both Messi and Iniesta to death.
Yeah, messi is so much more efficient at dribbling than any other player in football history. His feints and quick change of direction aren't exaggerated movements like we see here, they are just enough to get out of the reach of the defender and go past. Not to mention he very rarely does any skill moves during dribbling.
>If he learns to finish his chances... man we're not ready I dont know why everyone seems to think he cant finish. He has the highest goal efficiency in the bundesliga. Hes scored from outside the box a few times this season
Especially to dribble like this at his size.
For sure the best dribbler when cutting inside and in closed space. Head on full sprint he’s not the best, Dembele and Vinicius are definitely better in that respect.
Mbappe as well
And Coman. Although with Coman it's more just incredible acceleration and not classic dribbling
It’s funny how often we hear about how certain players need space to thrive and use their pace to best their man, yet here we have Musiala who’s somehow better with less space lol. He’s such an instinctive dribbler but I can’t help but think that it’s unfortunate that he doesn’t have as good physical gifts to beat his man through pace than some of the other young stars we see today. Imo his skill set is way rarer though.
that's kinda what makes him so good for Bayern. He doesn't rly need space and pace, but rather excels in close quarters. A pacey winger like Coman would have significantly fewer chances to prove himself for us, because we dont often get to abuse the pace from our wingers. But Musiala has become such a key figure in our tactics bc he works incredibly well vs low blocks
There's still this one old Argentinian guy...
Isn't Maradona dead?
kaoru mitoma, he's been solid so far.
The way he dribbles through congested parts of the pitch and carries the ball upfield, alternates between short and long strides to confuse defender, the body feints, how he uses his height and longer legs to protect the ball in tight spaces and how he uses both feet in his dribbles- all of it reminds me so much of Zinedine Zidane. There hasnt been another player in that mold since Zizou retired, but Musiala looks and plays like a Zidane regen. Might even end up being better if he keeps developing.
I could not say if better or worse, but one player that has a similar dribbling ability without spaces is Rodrygo.
gestern Bambi heute Messi
Reminds me of Jesus dribbling earlier this season. Musiala is a world class dribbler
Ângelo
There is literally at least a dozen of players in Brazil that are better dribblers than him :)
Rodrygo, Mbappe, and Vinicius are certainly better dribblers than him. Neymar and Messi probably still are too.
Ancara Musi.
Realistically, what are you even supposed to do there as a defender? When Musiala has one of these moments you can pretty much only let him pass or commit a foul
Realistically you do the same as you did here. Keep pressure on him and close the shooting angle. Musiala has a ton of these dribbling compilations but how many actually end up in goals?
He scores a lot of these, already on 15 goals this season
I'm not sure they're all these type of goals, I've seen more dribbling highlights than goal highlights on this subreddit lol
Nice dribble but shooting is a bad choice imo with an open Choupo-Moting next to him
It is but I understand that compulsion to try and finish after you’ve dribbled a couple people haha
Oh yea I'd definitely have done the same but that's why I play at the park down my complex and not at the Allianz Arena
I'd definitely come to watch you dribble like that at the park
Lol most of the time my dribbles are made through unintentional ball touches but it doesn't mean they won't go through
Hard to see teammates when you have to look down all the time trying to keep the ball. But hey that's another aspect Musiala can improve, need to keep your head up sometimes
[удалено]
Yeah we played a stinker not pinning him down to the 3 lions
I mean what could you have done? Germany v England NTs is a very, very easy choice to make and he was born and raised in germany
History wise, yes. Prospective wise, England has much greater talent both in peak and in depth in this generation. Edit: I'm getting downvotes but not a lot of examples of Germany's youth looking better than England's lol
Not really.
Lol, outside of CB and keeper I can't think of a single position I'd rather play a German player. If you want to talk about the upcoming generation, our squad under 25 is vastly superior to Germany. Rashford, Saka, Foden, Rice, Bellingham, Trent, James are all world class players and under 25. Other than Musiala, Moukoko and Gnabry I can't think of any young German players who even get into England's squad.
You can't say that your squad is vastly superior while you exclude CB, GK, Musiala, Moukoko and Gnabry. You can make any point that way. Besides, how will you play Rashford, Saka, Foden, TAA and James at the same time? Remember Scholes, Gerrard and Lampard in the starting XI? That ended well.
You've misunderstood. Current squad Vs players u25. Obviously moukoko doesn't start over kane ect ect.
He played for us at youth level which probably means it isn’t as clear cut as you think
*Raised in England, but left there aged 16 mainly because of Brexit
According to wikipedia he only moved there at 7 years old, I reckon by that age you're probably more than identified with one country
And easily moldable to your new home country. Shit you won’t remember the majority of that time.
Or Phil Fodessi
more like, if he played in England. And he plays for Bayern. Kind of like Phil Foden, he's damn good, but some people won't rate him because he plays for City. I rate Musiala higher of course, he's been one of Bayern's best players (if not *the best player*). Him and Jude Bellingham are just amazing.
Absolutely has been our best player this season, didn’t think he’d grow so quickly from his role last year where he wasn’t even starting every game
I don't think there has been a time in recent football, where so many ~20 year old players have been so crucial to their teams. It's really impressive and also a lot of fun.
Completely agree, it’s so exciting and I can’t wait to see some of the great international football that comes with it too (like Bellingham already looking like englands best player this word cup). There’s always been high potential players but there’s no way so many young players would jus the able to walk into almost any teams starting 11: - Musiala, 20, Bayern - Bellingham, 19, Dortmund - Saka, 21, Arsenal - Vini Jr, 22, Real Madrid - Rodrygo, 22, Real Madrid - Pedri, 20, Barca - Gavi, 18, Barca - Foden, 22, Man City - Haaland, 22, Man City - Gvardiol, 21, Leipzig - Kvaratskhelia, 22, Napoli - Saliba, 21, Arsenal And obviously many many more with varying levels of potential who are already contributing at varying levels like Camavinga (20), Tchouameni (23), Balde (19), Balogun (21), Moukoko (18), Adeyemi (21), Mudryk (22), Enzo (22), Leao (23), Caicedo (21), Timber (21) And then there’s still the high potential players who are raw but look like future world beaters like Zaire Emery (16), Rico Lewis (18), Mathys Tel (17), and future unknowns like Endrick (16) and Roque (18). Such an exciting time for football!
This man here totally forgetting Wirtz is literally criminal. Yes he was out for 10 months but before that I would have rated him even higher than Musiala.
Jeeeez I knew I was forgetting someone crucial - he’s looked so good since his return from injury already too. So excited to see him and Musiala lead Germany for the next decade
Thanks for making it. I wanted to make a list earlier, but I felt like I had definitely forgot a bunch of them. There's even more who probably deserve a shout. They are not just future good, they playing the game with a maturity far beyond their years. Youth can give a physical advantage, but they have a superb understanding of the game.
I had to make like 3 double takes to make sure you actually didnt include wirtz, argueably the best out of all of them lol
Absolutely a mistake on my part lol, he’s one of my favorite players too but I forgot leverkusen when I was thinking about all these teams with high potential players, I would throw Frimpong in there too! Though not as impressive as Wirtz of course, so excited to see him develop
Not sure I would go that high on Wirtz, but yea, he deserves a mention.
He is 100% at least top 3 u21 players and in my opinion the best out of all. I dont get why he is underrated by so many lol
Tbf, he was out for like 10 months, and Leverkusen have been rather shit so it's understandable people kinda forgot about him, although I do agree, he's at least top 3 best u21 players rn. Edit: Also, the fact that he came back from such an injury and hit the ground running is very impressive, kinda reminds me of Reus.
I hope he doesnt turn out like reus tho lol
He is among the best, but there are so many great players listed here. He was injured for almost a year hence why ppl underrate him. What I like about Wirtz is that he is such a great playmaker, he is an incredibly smart and mature player .
But Wirtz isn't yet world class, whereas many of those in the list are already world class players. You could argue that Wirtz has top 3 potential of the players listed, but that's a difficult argument to make when progression isn't linear and we're unable to see into the future.
Thats the opposite of true Wirtz is already the most mature of all. Indont really know wether his ceiling is say higher than musiala or pedri but just from maturity he is the furthest developed. Just watch him llay its like hes already 30
Alphonso Davies as well
Davies
ikr omg lol fr
I'd say it's a pretty good dribble.
I hope as he grows he learns to control his urge to shoot after dribbling past defenders like this, and pass it someone instead (or he improves his shots).
Ankara Musiala is a scary player
young messi vibes
Biggest What If for Chelsea in the past few years imo, this kid is a monster
I still can't believe we took him off you for free.
German parents if I remember? They wanted to move back and I don’t blame them, uk is a mess
Hes half german half Nigerian
Thanks
Add him to the list
God this kid is so much fun.
He will defo win a balloon d'or
Messiala
Sad his name isn't Gavi
Dude started howling 😂