Peter Hyballa, coach of third division Türkgücü Munich, spoke highly of BVB midfield motor Jude Bellingham and predicted the 18-year-old’s future laurels in football.
“I really believe that one day he will become a world footballer. He can actually do everything,” said Hyballa in the new edition of the DAZN program Decoded, which highlights the 18-year-old’s style of play. Bellingham was “the boss” in sixth position and “troublemaker and playmaker” in eighth. In the one-on-one, the England international even had “a bit of Maradona” in him.
In addition, Mike Dodds, Bellingham’s youth coach at Birmingham City, reveals in the course of the issue how his shirt number 22 came about. “The three positions in midfield are: Number ten, the playmaker who closes the game. Number eight, who works between the two penalty areas. And then there is number six, the clearer in midfield. Here in England, that’s the one four, “said Dodds. The 22 is an addition of the three central midfield positions and should therefore represent Bellingham’s versatility.
“We thought that Jude could play all positions and that too in one game. So he wanted 22 and when Michael Zorc promised him that he would also get his desired number at BVB, he called me. That was a great conversation”, continued Dodds. In Birmingham, from where Bellingham moved to BVB in 2020, the number 22 will no longer be awarded after his departure.
At BVB, Bellingham quickly established himself as a regular player and has been a key element for successful BVB games under coach Marco Rose since the current season at the latest – also because he shines on the offensive, especially in the current season. Bellingham is in 18 competitive games with ten direct goal participations. His solo for the 3-0 win against Arminia Bielefeld was particularly worth seeing.
“He’s the most mature, most serious 18-year-old I’ve ever seen,” enthused BVB defense chief Mats Hummels after Dortmund’s furious 4-2 win over Union Berlin in mid-September and predicted Bellingham, like Hyballa, a great future in world football : “I’ve already told him 25 times this year that I just love him. A great footballer, a great guy. He will go his way one hundred percent without any doubt about it.”
