In the video series 'Legenden-Talk', two FC Schalke 04 icons analyse their team's performances. The latest away match at 1. FC Köln left Klaus Fischer (76) and Rüdiger Abramczik (70) unimpressed. Fischer is particularly worried about the lack of attacking threat.
Coach Miron Muslic's defence and goalkeeper Loris Karius gave them nothing to complain about once again. But they had plenty to say about Köln forward Said El Mala. The two former stars criticised him not for the unfortunate action that made him partly responsible for the heavy collision between Robin Gosens and Soufiane El-Faouzi, but for what they saw as his poor football.
"They're talking about 60, 70 million. Hello! I ask myself: who's going to pay that for him? Does he ever watch himself play football?" said Abramczik, before briefly mentioning their black-and-yellow rivals Borussia Dortmund, aka Lüdenscheid. "I'm glad those from Lüdenscheid (I'll call them that for now, otherwise I'll get into trouble again later) didn't sign him. I don't know why such a fuss was made about him."
A gifted winger who won 19 caps for Germany, Abramczik said he had seen "nothing from El Mala apart from the worst action of the match, when he shoved our two lads there".
He did not, however, blame the Köln player for the collision. Both Schalke players suffered head injuries, which Abramczik called "a terrible thing", but he said it was not a "red card" offence.
Klaus Fischer doubts Said El Mala's place in the national team
Like Abramczik, Fischer was unimpressed by El Mala but offered no substantive argument for his criticism. Instead, the 1982 World Cup runner-up turned his attention to the national team. "Is he supposed to fire Germany forward? To greater heights?" asked the third-highest goalscorer in Bundesliga history. "All I can say is: Goodbye Germany. What has he achieved? Nothing!"
During the most recent international break, El Mala made his senior Germany debut under national team coach Jürgen Klopp. The left winger played one half in the 2-0 Nations League win over Serbia and, a few days later, 27 minutes in the 0-0 draw against Greece.
Linked with a move to the Premier League and Borussia Dortmund in the summer, the 20-year-old has played seven competitive matches for Köln this season, scoring two goals.