When Jamal Musiala moved to Southampton with his family at the age of seven, he did not speak a word of English.
City Central FC from the heart of the city nevertheless offered him the opportunity to pursue his passion for football.
And now the 18-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder is giving something back to the club and its community.
Southampton's inner city, like almost every other in England, stands for multi-culturalism, for diversity - but also has its own problems. Around 37 per cent of residents in the SO14 district are unemployed, according to official authorities, and between numerous middle-class families and a few rich people, some are forced to live on the breadline.
"It's not the most pleasant spot on earth," Rosh Bhatti says with a sigh in conversation with Goal and SPOX .
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"You see people prostituting themselves or dealing drugs even in broad daylight. That's part of it here, unfortunately."
What helps many children and young people against the dark side of the big city? Sport. Especially football.
That is why Bhatti, 45, has been out and about in the heart of Southampton several times a week for many years. He goes around schools, gyms and football grounds with the mission of getting boys and girls interested in football.
He sends the most talented ones to the Staplewood Campus, the training ground of Premier League side Southampton, to audition for the youth teams.
But the first stop for anyone interested in football is City Central FC - a recreational club in the SO14 district, where there are no outsiders, but fun comes first.
A bit of football in the cage and leave the dreary everyday life behind - no matter whether you are rich or poor, or what your background is.
The club employs coaches from all over the world. "City Central means equality," says Bhatti.
City Central FC
The scout knows what he is talking about. He founded the club in 2001 together with his brother Jazz, and was a coach himself for more than a decade before he was hired by the Saints.
"In more than 15 years, I've never once witnessed a child being discriminated against or racially insulted," says Bhatti, "City Central forms many friendships for life - between families of different backgrounds, even between the children themselves."
Musiala can confirm this. The Bayern star moved to Southampton in October 2010 with his family and the dream of becoming a professional footballer. City Central took him on, unlike other clubs, and thus gave him the opportunity to quickly make social connections in the UK in addition to playing football.
"Not everyone has the chance to go straight into the academy of a top club," Wai Wan, Musiala's first coach in the Under-7s, says, "with us everyone gets to play football, that's the most important thing.
"Jamal was very shy when we first met and didn't speak English. But in the end, his talent spoke for him."
One of his closest friends from their time together at City Central is Levi Colwill, a Southampton boy of exactly the same age who, like Musiala, went on to join the Saints' academy and then Chelsea. Today, Colwill is on loan at Championship club Huddersfield Town.
"My time in England means a lot to me. I am very grateful for how I was taken in by City Central FC in Southampton as a seven-year-old little boy from Germany who couldn't speak a word of English. I made friends through football. The people and coaches there were so inspiring and encouraging. They made my start in England so much easier," Musiala tells Goal and SPOX .
For this reason, the Germany international is now giving something back to the recreational club and its community. He and his family have organised a youth tournament called the Jamal Musiala City Central Cup, which will be held regularly at the club's training ground.
City Central FC
The aim is not so much to help the club in financially difficult times. The focus is on teaching values such as respect, empathy, gratitude, responsibility and self-care. Values that helped Musiala on his way to the professional ranks.
"Not only the best teams in terms of sportsmanship, but also the fairest teams are to be rewarded at this tournament," explains Bhatti, who reports a "learning effect" among the boys and girls after a first trial tournament in July, with around 80 children from the U7 and U8, U9 and U11 age groups taking part.
"A couple of coaches have already told me that the kids don't grab the ball right away in training and instead ask much more often: "Hey coach, how are you? Is there anything I can help with?"
"Jamal has a big impact on them, he's a hero. Many elders from the community also still remember him and look up to him with hope. The positive thing about him is that he is an incredibly humble and polite guy who is not aloof despite his rapid development. That is one of the keys to his success. His family, especially his mother, gave him that.
"And that's what he's now trying to pass on to the kids here at Southampton and at City Central. Talent alone is not everything."
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, a visit to the ground has not yet been possible for Musiala, but the midfielder sent several video messages and signed jerseys to the children at City Central as part of their first trial tournament in Southampton.
"At City Central FC, they let the kids dream, despite all the hardships some kids have to endure," Musiala says. "It's a great honour for me to be able to give something back now.
"It is so important to teach children values for life and that they dare to dream. I am very happy to be able to support the people at City Central who are doing a great job for the community in Southampton."
Dragos Cavasdan, the club's chairman, is overwhelmed when talking to Goal and SPOX : "We couldn't be more grateful to know this boy.
"Apart from his footballing skills, which are outstanding, the way he speaks in interviews and behaves on the pitch gives me hope that there are still sensible, good-thinking people in football."