Köln’s German phenom Said El Mala (19) continues to make Bundesliga strides

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FC Köln’s young German phenom Said El Mala unsurprisingly emerges as one of the major talking points from the Bundesliga weekend. The 19-year-old – considered worth mega-millions by Brighton before he even played his first Bundesliga game – scored the match-winner in his first Bundesliga start on Friday night. El Mala now had two German top flight goals and one assist to his credits in five relief appearances and his one start.

Köln head coach Lukas Kwasniok placed El Mala on the left-hand side of his attacking trident. The teenage sensation added his individual piece of sparkle to an otherwise blasé affair. In the 16th-minute, El Mala sliced through four Hoffenheim markers with a silky solo dribble before nutmegging TSG keeper Oliver Baumann for the 0-1. No other goals were scored on the evening as Köln prevailed over Hoffenheim by that scoreline. 

“He made the decision for me,” Kwasniok said of the decision to start El Mala when speaking to Sky Germanyafterwards. “He trained well and scored three goals during the final training session. Said is a good lad; a street-footballer with God-given talent. That speed and dribbling. Said is so lucky that he has so much to offer.“

Kwasniok wasn’t the only one praising El Mala on Friday night. Two footballing journeymen who undoubtedly wished they had El Mala’s “God-given-gifts” raved over the ultra-talented young man with a full promising career ahead of him. Swiss veteran Joël Schmied (27) and Germany’s “Neustadt Nomad” Dominique Heintz (32) – both know what a privilege it remains to earn a start at the highest level. 

“He deserved to play from the start,” Heintz – whose start constituted his first minutes for Köln this season – remarked in the mixed zone. “Because he always brought energy to the game whenever he came on.“

“Before the game, I told him ‘Get into the game with your simple moves’,” Schmied added. “And then he delivered a game like this. My tip paid off. He’s doing incredibly well.

“Said has a healthy self-confidence and has proven that he has what it takes to play in the Bundesliga,” Schmied continued, being sure to add. “We [still] have to keep the lad grounded.”

“[I also told him],’You don’t have to prove right away that you’re the ultimate dribbling artist’,” Schmied concluded. “[With grounding], everything will be just fine.“

El Mala’s opportunity to showcase his skills with his Bundesliga club may have to wait for a couple more weeks, but the Krefeld-native is among the DFB-Juniors once again tapped to represent Germany at the highest youth level with Antonio Di Salvo’s Germany U21s during the forthcoming October international break.

Should El Mala’s development truly continue apace, it’s entirely possible that he will be featuring for Julian Nagelsmann’s senior team during the forthcoming World Cup in the North America next summer.

GGFN | Peter Weis