"Beckenba—Gramps, how can I get better at football?" Maxi asked Beckenbauer, who had recently insisted that Maxi call him Grandpa since he knew Maxi had no grandparents.
"You're already very good. You might try gymnastics; it helps improve flexibility and can also aid in injury resistance," Beckenbauer replied thoughtfully, drawing on his extensive experience.
"I can help you arrange a coach for this if you want," he added shortly after.
Maxi looked up at Beckenbauer, his heart swelling with gratitude. "Thank you, Gramps," he said, his voice tinged with sincerity. Despite Beckenbauer's stern demeanor over the past few weeks, Maxi had come to see the depth of his kindness. He felt a warm glow inside, knowing that someone as accomplished as Beckenbauer believed in his potential.
"We're here," Beckenbauer said as he pulled into Maxi's driveway. He had driven Maxi back home.
"Thanks, Gramps," Maxi said while getting out of the car. He waved goodbye to Beckenbauer with a smile.
Maxi quickly went upstairs, showered, ate, and brushed his teeth. After completing all of this, he went to bed.
This was Maxi's daily routine for the next year and four months, from early April 2011 to early September 2012.
His daily life didn't change much. When the family of three had time, they visited the Musiala family, especially during the summer holidays of 2011 and 2012. They spent three weeks each summer in Southampton.
In the summer of 2011, shocking news spread within the family: the Musiala family would be moving permanently to London due to Caroline getting a job offer there, and Musiala being accepted into Chelsea's academy.
Today is the 10th of September, the first day of school for the 2012/13 year. In sixth grade, everyone in Maxi's class had to make a choice between Spanish and Latin as their foreign language.
For Maxi, this was an easy decision. He chose Spanish, as he could already speak Portuguese and was curious about his unknown grandmother.
Isa made the same choice, believing Latin was useless and that Spanish sounded more beautiful.
Isa and Maxi were still assigned to the same class.
"Are you excited?" Isa asked Maxi with a smile on her face.
"Yes! I'm so happy that we finally get to have art classes again. And luckily, I'm in the same class as you," Maxi replied with a grin.
"I'm happy too," Isa said, returning the smile.
Both loved being in the same class together. They had grown dependent on each other and knew everything about one another.
Soon, they arrived at their school and entered their classroom. They were the first ones there, as their parents had forced them to wake up early to secure good seats.
The two ignored their advice, though, and sat in the last row by the window.
The most notable change in the classroom this year was that there weren't only two people sitting at each table but six.
Isa sat by the window, with Maxi beside her.
Shortly after, the first students trickled into the classroom, some from their old class and some new faces they didn't recognize.
When the class was already half full, a group of four entered.
Three boys and one girl.
The girl looked beautiful, though not as beautiful as Isa. She had long blond hair and was fairly short. Next to her was a white boy with curly brown hair. The other two boys had chocolate-colored skin. One had black dreadlocks, and the other had curly black hair.
Maxi recognized the last two boys. He had played with them briefly at the beginning of his journey with Bayern. One was an offensive midfielder like him, and the other was a right back. The first one's name was Sydney Eweka, and the other was Niklas-Wilson Sommer, whom everyone called Willy.
They recognized Maxi as well and walked over.
"What's up, guys? Long time no see! I didn't know you were at the same school as me," Maxi greeted them with the handshake they had developed when they played together.
"Everything's good. We also didn't know you were at this school," Sydney said with a smile.
"These are our friends, Melina and Elias. They're totally in love," Niklas teased, introducing the others in a playful tone.
Isa and Maxi glanced at the two of them, who were blushing, and laughed. It was clear Elias and Melina looked like they were in love.
"We aren't in love!" x2
Both blurted out simultaneously, their faces flushed, which made them seem even more like a couple.
"Haha!" They all laughed together.
"Want to sit with us?" Maxi asked the four of them.
"That would be perfect," everyone agreed.
Now they sat in this order: Window-Isa-Maxi-Melina-Elias-Sydney-Willy.
The six soon started chatting about their experiences in youth teams, FIFA, and the girls talked about girl stuff. Maxi didn't quite understand most of it.
It turned out that Elias was a good FIFA gamer. He often played with Sydney and Willy.
As for Sydney and Willy, the two of them were now playing in the U11 age group.
Maxi was currently training with the U15 team but still played with the U14 team. He needed to grow more to compete against players three years older than him.
Maxi was 11 years old now but would turn 12 on December 14th.
Beckenbauer had limited Maxi to playing against people three years older than him, meaning he could only play with the U15 (15 and younger) after his birthday. This was a common practice in football for the best talents, as three years was seen as a boundary for training promising players without risking injury.
On the gymnastics side, Maxi was also training regularly with his coach. He had come to enjoy gymnastics and sometimes tried out some moves as goal celebrations. Gymnastics also helped him against the physically stronger opponents he faced, so he relied heavily on flexibility and skill moves.
As the six of them made it through the school day, which was mostly introductions, they agreed to hang out a few days after school.
It was convenient that Isa, Melina, and Elias had a lot of free time, while Maxi, Sydney, and Willy had training on the same days.
After school, Maxi took the bus with Willy and Sydney to the Bayern campus on Säbener Straße. When they arrived, they parted ways and headed to their respective age groups.
Maxi and his U15 team had an off-the-ball training session that day. They were forced to do stretching, running, sprinting, and cycling all day. It was torture for everyone, and it was hated in almost every age group.
After the grueling day of drills, Maxi trudged up to the first team cabins. The air was thick with the scent of sweat and turf, a reminder of the hard work put in. As he stepped under the hot water, the steam enveloped him like a comforting blanket, washing away the fatigue. He could hear the laughter of the first team players echoing through the locker room, a sound that made him feel both nervous and exhilarated.
Maxi went up to the first-team locker room and took a shower there. They had the best showers, and Maxi was invited by the first team to use them.
After the grueling day of drills, Maxi trudged up to the first team cabins to take a shower there. They were one of the few cabins to have showers and had the best ones. Lucky for Maxi he was invited by them to shower there. The air there was thick with the scent of sweat and turf, a reminder of the hard work put in. As he stepped under the hot water, the steam enveloped him like a comforting blanket, washing away the fatigue. He could hear the laughter of the first-team players echoing through the locker room as they finished their training.
He got to know all the players, as he sometimes accompanied Beckenbauer when he was around and often met them when Beckenbauer was teaching them something.
After finishing his shower, he also ran into the first-team players.
They seemed to be discussing a question posed to them by Jupp Heynckes, their coach.
When they saw Maxi, they decided to ask him the question.
"Hey Maxi, what do you think Bayern's goal for this season is?" Müller asked.
"Of course, the goal is to win the Triple," Maxi said, looking at them incredulously.
"Isn't that a bit too ambitious? We haven't even won the league in the past two years," Alaba said, curious as to why he had said that.
"But we were in the Champions League final last year and in 2010. Regardless, Bayern's ambition should always be the Triple. That's what Gramps told me," Maxi said, quickly running to Beckenbauer's office, not wanting to be late. If he was, he would have to run around the pitch again.
The Bayern players watched Maxi leave with smiles on their faces. He was like a beloved mascot within the team.
Captain Lahm stood up and clapped his hands.
"You heard Maxi. Nothing less than the Triple is acceptable. That is our answer!" Lahm shouted into the locker room, full of motivation.
The others laughed and soon all cheered together with smiles.