© Instagram/JamalMusiala
Times Square, Madison Square Garden, yellow cabs, skyscrapers, stars and stripes. If you click through social media around New Year's Eve and Christmas, you will quickly discover that some people fulfil a long-standing dream at the turn of the year: a Christmas shopping trip to New York, ice skating at Rockefeller Center or watching a live NBA basketball game. Jamal Musiala also fulfilled this dream holiday this year – as can be seen on his Instagram account, among other things.
Never been to New York
"I'd never been to New York or Miami," Musiala told fcbayern.com at the start of training on Thursday, having returned safely back in Munich from the USA. "For me it was about spending time with my family, switching off for once, but also seeing some different things."
The attacker has notched an impressive 22 goals in all competitions so far this season, as well as six assists. It's perhaps the best season to date in his fledgling career. In America, Musiala allowed himself the necessary distance and a bit of quiet time with his family far away from Munich. "I wanted to come back with fresh energy," he explained.
Meeting of superstars
Not just thinking about football, but also about basketball: Musiala picked up some tips on shooting hoops from Jimmy Butler, who won Olympic gold in basketball with the USA in 2016 and has been in two NBA Finals with the Miami Heat. The Bayern man spent the morning training with the superstar before exchanging jerseys. In Madison Square Garden, he also met NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, whose three-point celebration the Germany international copied with a grin at the European Championship last summer.
© Instagram/JamalMusiala
Famous film scene reenacted
"The idea for having a few days in the USA came from my family and me," explained Musiala. The Bayern attacker even reenacted a famous scene from the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New York – with pizza and cola on the back seat of a stretch limousine.
Musiala wasn't the only Bayern player in New York, with team-mate Michael Olise also there. "Michael said he was also coming over, so we ate together and spent a day looking around New York," revealed Musiala. By the way, he didn't define any particular objectives for the second half of the season with Bayern on the flight home from New York: "I've learned that it's better to just set out to keep taking steps forward in your overall game."
FC Bayern began their preparations for the second half of the season on Thursday:
Topics of this article