Philipp Lahm: Wirtz and Musiala are artists who can become complete

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Philipp Lahm: Wirtz and Musiala are artists who can become complete at Liverpool and Bayern Munich
Philipp Lahm: Wirtz and Musiala are artists who can become complete at Liverpool and Bayern Munich
By Philipp Lahm

June 6, 2025 12:14 am EDT
Germany can count itself lucky to have Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala.

They are two great footballers who inspire such hope for the future, for their clubs and the national team. But what is extraordinary about them is that they were born with enormous talent and made for football — and that shows in how they play.

Both constantly demand the ball and will take opponents on, one-on-one, at any time.

Wirtz has an outstanding first touch and can change speed so easily. Musiala is practically inseparable from the ball. He can beat opponents from a standing start. Even when a defence packs the box, he can still find gaps and slice his way through.

Many countries don’t have one playmaker of such quality. Germany have two.

When they have the ball at their feet, those are special moments in any football match. That’s when the chaos that we love about this sport appears: in the dribble that should not work, in the turn in a space which is too tight, and in the pass that only players of such ability can see.

They are artists on the pitch. Courageous, full of ideas and instinct. But what I particularly like is that Wirtz and Musiala are team players. They connect with all their team-mates on the pitch. They run a lot and help in defence. These are the qualities they share.


Germany are blessed to have Wirtz and Musiala (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images)
And yet they differ in many ways.

Musiala is more playful. He’s like a cat with a ball of wool. He varies his positions more, too. Sometimes he appears on the left, sometimes on the right, then deep in midfield, only to glide into the penalty area with three quick touches. He plays exhilaratingly, if not always with such clear purpose.

In contrast, Wirtz doesn’t just want to be involved in the attacking play, he wants to be the decisive part of it. He is more straightforward and clear-minded. He waits, he picks his moments, and can alter the speed of a game with one touch or pass.

That’s why he seems ideal for Liverpool. The system of play there has pace, vertical direction and a clear allocation of roles within the team that should suit him really well.

I’m enjoying watching both players’ development because neither Musiala nor Wirtz is complete yet. But they can become complete if they are given the structure in which their exceptional talent can flourish. People are moulded by their environment, and for footballers, that is the club. If you want to be successful, you need excellent team-mates who bring out the best in you and coaches who know when to restrain and when to allow freedom.

That’s a delicate balance: knowing when to guide and when to step back. It takes trust in the player’s talent to allow for those moments of genius that can’t be taught. In those instances, a coach’s job is really to provide space for players to reinvent the game on their own terms. Because sometimes the best coaching is not coaching at all.

In any case, the maturing phase now begins for both these players. Musiala with his new contract at Bayern. Wirtz, it seems, in England.

They have to take responsibility and learn to control the game without losing their spontaneity. They also have to show themselves in difficult games, against the very best opponents. Sometimes in those games, it’s not possible to shine as an individual. What matters in those situations is perseverance and survival. That’s the point when individual brilliance is no longer enough. Then the more important attribute is reliability. It’s about character, maturity, and delivering consistent performances.


How do these players develop further?

Musiala needs to be given a clear role in Munich. Not as an all-rounder everywhere, but as a conductor in the final third. His dribbling belongs in that part of the pitch where beating defenders really makes an impact. Lionel Messi learnt early on that sometimes you don’t run and that sometimes you need to wait for the perfect moment to strike. Musiala often wants to do too much at once.

In my opinion, Wirtz is better at allowing situations to develop. However, he needs to become more physically durable.

Against Atletico Madrid this season or Atalanta in the 2024 Europa League final, he learnt what it was to have an opponent chasing him every second. He didn’t like man-to-man defence, but being robust is a prerequisite in the Premier League and Champions League.

Wirtz also has to learn how to deal with pressure, which will be much more intense at Liverpool — who have submitted a bid worth up to €130million (£109m) in total to sign him — than it ever was in Leverkusen. Look, it’s already started, with criticism of his performance for the national team against Portugal on Wednesday. He hasn’t even signed yet!

Musiala will also soon be under more scrutiny, too. In July, he will become Bayern’s highest earner.

Of course, I would have liked to see Wirtz in the Bayern jersey, but I can understand him moving elsewhere. For one thing, Arne Slot wants to develop a position with him, not just fill it. Secondly, it’s not easy to integrate Wirtz into the same team as Musiala. Both want to occupy the middle of the pitch. Both want the ball and need space.

Two No 10s is really difficult. Especially as neither of them is physically strong enough in defence to make themselves useful on the flanks. Their home is the centre, behind the forward line. Who gets what freedom? Who is subordinate? Double genius without a clear structure leads to chaos.

It’s a different story in the national team, of course. There you play with what the country has to offer. Wirtz, Musiala and Kai Havertz are the three best German footballers. Even if they are not easy to combine, they have to play together. Everything has to be centred on them, perhaps with a flexible back three with three attacking midfielders: Havertz as a false nine, Musiala half left, Wirtz half right.


Can it work?

Julian Nagelsmann has to teach them tactical discipline and offer them support to make their partnership function all the time. In matches against Scotland, Hungary and Bosnia, it worked brilliantly and they scored a lot of goals. But it’s also true that Wirtz started on the bench in the two knockout matches at Euro 2024, against Denmark and Spain, and was not quite the player he had been for Leverkusen during the season.

So, there is work to do for Germany ahead of the World Cup next year. There are answers to find to make Wirtz and Musiala operate to their potential, because in the big games, the ones that really matter for club and country, these combinations do not just work by themselves.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/640478 ... ol-bayern/

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