February 2025 BAYERN GAME
FIRST CONTACT MANY OPTIONS
Musiala ‘ s snake run begins with the reception of the ball . Even his first contact is multifaceted and magnificent . Musiala doesn ‘ t just pick up the ball , he also initiates the next action . At one point he turns and winds around the opponent in a flowing semicircle . At other times he simply lets the ball whizz past , leaving defenders stranded . Thanks to his brilliant first touch , Musiala is “ able to create a new game situation ,” said Danny Schwarz , who once coached Musiala at FC Bayern U19 level .
VARIETY IN THE TOOLBOX
Musiala doesn ‘ t just have one special move , but a whole repertoire . At the start of a dribble , for example , he often does a “ La Croqueta “, passing the ball back and forth between both legs and letting his opponent run into empty space . “ I was always up against stronger opponents ,“ he once said . “ I had to find other solutions to get my way .“ Even as a seven-year-old , he had already learned tricks from Ronaldinho , Messi and Zidane . The snake run combines the tricks of his idols into ever new movement sequences .
EFFICIENCY MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPECTACLE
Every move Musiala makes seems to be perfectly adapted to the movement of his opponents . His snake run does not follow a fixed program , but is always new and unique – and therefore unpredictable . Musiala is not interested in the show or a spectacular effect . In an interview with the Spanish sports newspaper “ as “, he once criticized his generation . “ Quite a few try to force dribbles in order to spread them on social media ,“ he said . But it is more important to know “ at what point in a game they are effective “. Musiala does not care that the highlight reels of his dribbles are shared millions of times online : “ Sometimes a simple pass can have more impact .“
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