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With smile as dazzling as his game, Yunus Musah could be USMNT's breakout World Cup star | Opinion
admin November 15, 2022 1 View
Ask Gregg Berhalter what makes Yunus Musah so special, and the first thing he mentions isn't the young midfielder's sublime dribbling skills. Or his ability to leave defenders clutching at air. Or even his pinpoint passing, delivering balls to spaces just as his teammates arrive.
No, what Berhalter mentions first is Musah's smile. A megawatt grin he flashes easily and often, charming everyone who sees it.
"You see it and you want to be friends with him," the U.S. coach told USA TODAY Sports. "You want to support him, want to be in his corner because of how he interacts with the world."
Even as soccer's popularity has exploded in the United States, there have only been a handful of U.S. men who reached the celebrity status that's a given for top NFL and NBA players. Or the USWNT. Landon Donovan, of course. Cobi Jones, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard, too.
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The uber-talented group of youngsters on the U.S. World Cup roster could change that, however, and Musah is at the front of the line.
A teenager for two more weeks – he turns 20 on Nov. 29, the day the USMNT plays Iran in its last group-stage game – Musah is, first and foremost, a phenom. He was just 16 when he signed with Valencia, and made his La Liga debut a year later.
If you want to teach a child how to run with the ball, park him or her in front of a screen and show clips of Musah on a loop. He's so smooth, the ball is like another body part. Cats would envy the ease with which he can push it forward and pull it back.
That gift gives him a seamless ability to play from box to box, getting the ball deep and breaking down defenders as the attack builds.
"Yunus is a guy that just blows me away, at his age, what he can do," Berhalter marveled after a June friendly against Uruguay. "Crazy level of talent."
If there was a drawback to Musah's game, it was finishing. But he's taken his game to another level this season at Valencia after being moved inside. He's got two assists in his first 11 appearances, and being a cheat code in the middle of the field has been huge for Valencia, which is fourth in La Liga with 22 goals.
United States midfielder Yunus Musah (6) dribbles the ball against El Salvador midfielder Alexander Roldan during a CONCACAF FIFA World Cup Qualifier soccer match at Lower.com Field on Jan. 27, 2022.
It was evident just how badly the USMNT needs Musah when he missed the two September games because of a groin injury. Without the third member of their "MMA Midfield" – Musah, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams – the Americans looked disjointed and unsettled in a 2-0 loss to Japan and a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia.
It takes more than exceptional skill and success to turn an athlete into a star, though. They need something to captivate the public, be it an inspiring story or a charismatic personality.
Musah has both.
Choosing the U.S.
His parents are originally from Ghana. He was born in New York City – his cat is named Bronx "to remind me of where I was born" – when his mother went into labor while visiting her brother. Musah moved to northern Italy as an infant and lived there until he was 9, when his parents moved the family to London to find better schools for their children.
This meant Musah was eligible to play for all four countries that are central to his and his family's story. He played at Arsenal's academy and came up through England's youth system – even playing against the United States twice as an Under-17.
"When I was at Arsenal … you're seeing players above you going to the national team and stuff. So I was just picturing that really, playing for England," Musah said.
Then he went to Valencia.
Nico Estevez, now the coach at FC Dallas, was a Berhalter assistant with the Columbus crew and the USMNT. Before that, he spent almost a decade at Valencia, and when Musah arrived at the club, someone let Estevez know that the teenager had a U.S. passport.
Not long after, Musah got a call from Berhalter. He was just 16 at the time.
"Him calling me at such a young age, that really hit me. That really meant to me that he really believed in me, as well, so that made me feel really good," Musah said.
Over the next two years, both Estevez and Berhalter stayed in contact with Musah and his family. Berhalter described his plan to rebuild the USMNT after it failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and where he saw Musah fitting in on a team that could transform U.S. soccer over the rest of this decade.
"The vision he has and what he wants for us, it's just so convincing," Musah said. "Things like having this young group and everyone together, it attracts people to come. It's not every national team that you get a chance to play at such a young age."
Musah made his first appearance with the USMNT in November 2020, playing in friendlies against Wales and Panama. England manager Gareth Southgate said at the time it was "obviously not ideal" and that he hoped Musah would still play for the Three Lions.
In March 2021, Musah announced he would play for the United States.
"I've never looked back," he said. "I've always really been happy with my decision."
Musah had not spent much time in the United States until joining the USMNT, and was astounded by just how big everything was. The buildings. The roads. The cars. (He still hasn't driven in the United States but "I'd like to one day.")
That kind of overload could send someone sideways, particularly someone so young. But Musah embraced it – as he does most everything.
He spent part of the summer after he committed to the USMNT in New York, teammate Tim Weah acting as his tour guide, so he could get to know better the city where he was born. He joined several other European-based players in Miami after June friendlies this year. He and his far-flung teammates – the 26 players on the World Cup roster play in eight countries – stay connected between USMNT camps with video game sessions.
The more time Musah spends with the USMNT, the more American he feels.
"I was born in the U.S. and then went around the world and came back," Musah said in a U.S. Soccer video after the World Cup roster was announced. "It's crazy how things work."
'Everything is a privilege'
If Musah ever harbors any of the angst or doubt or even mood swings typical of most teenagers, he doesn't show it. He is almost always smiling and seems "absolutely genuinely pleased to be playing soccer every day," Berhalter said.
When someone new comes into camp, it is Musah who is one of the first to welcome him. Asked this summer who the nicest person on the team is, Brenden Aaronson immediately named Musah.
"He's always taking people in," Aaronson said.
The smile, the personality, the warmth – that is the essence of Musah.
"You've got to remember, you're very lucky to be in the position you are," Musah said. "Everything is a privilege. To the smallest thing, like waking up in the morning and being able to walk to the bathroom, that's a privilege as well.
"After a loss or something, after a tough day, you're worried about the result when other people have to worry about more serious things. That really helps keep the mood and realize how lucky we are."
Musah is aware of how transformative these next few years could be. The core of the USMNT is so young it will be together at least through the next World Cup, and maybe even the one beyond that. With the United States co-hosting the 2026 tournament, along with Canada and Mexico, the players have a unique opportunity to elevate both the game in the United States and their own profiles.
The thought excites Musah. Not so much for how it could benefit him personally, but for what it could do for the game he loves.
"There's been times … I have to explain what football is. That was a bit of a new one because in Europe, everyone knows," he said. "So yeah, if we do well in the World Cup, definitely a lot more people will be interested."
As he says this, he smiles.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Yunus Musah has bright future with USMNT, and World Cup is just start
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