NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After a few months in Nashville, Alex Muyl is ready to take on a new adventure: preseason camp.
Muyl is in his first preseason with Nashville SC after making 21 appearances across all competitions with the club last season.
He played four full seasons with the New York Red Bulls as a Homegrown Player before arriving in Nashville mid-season. The 25-year-old winger quickly established himself as a member of the regular starting XI after making his club debut on August 30. After that point, Nashville earned points in 14 of 17 matches he played as he registered two assists in the regular season and one in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
Now as the club prepares for the 2021 MLS Season, Muyl sees a lot of value in being in camp with the team through this preseason.
“Preseason is a huge part of gelling with your team and getting up to speed on things at the same time,” he said. “You’re working on things that are really going to carry you through the rest of the season.” He says getting through an entire preseason with Nashville this year is very important.
Muyl used the off-season to keep building and get ready ahead of his first preseason with Nashville SC. He said many of his teammates did the same, which shows the willingness from the whole team to put themselves in the best position possible.
As part of preseason, the 25-year-old winger is working closely with Assistant Coach and former Leicester City winger Steve Guppy, who has given Muyl a “new inspiration” in his career, and instilled an “obsession” to improve.
“I’m working on things I’ve never worked on before and I really feel the difference,” Muyl said. “It’s giving me confidence.”
One major component of preseason is matches the team will use to gain match fitness and confidence.
“Matches in preseason are super important from a physical side,” Muyl said. “You have to get used to what it feels like to be in a competitive match again,” he said. “It’s also a way to gauge where you are and the work you’ve been doing.”
Muyl and Nashville SC will face a familiar foe in the New York Red Bulls in their second preseason match on March 24. Muyl said it’s been “strange” for him to prepare to play against his former club for the very first time.
In 2020, Muyl returned to Red Bull Arena, the home of the Red Bulls, to face CF Montréal, who used the stadium as its homebase due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. It didn’t feel real to Muyl. “Now, I’m playing them in preseason,” he said.
The transition from visiting Red Bull Arena to now meeting the Red Bulls in preseason is easing him into facing his former team ahead of the season. He is already texting old teammates about the impending match.
As preseason continues at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Muyl is ready to keep building on the foundation laid in the club’s inaugural season.
“After last year, we kind of know who we are,” he said. “Coming in [to preseason] and being able to see those traits are still there, and the same hunger is still there, is very important. It’s encouraging to see. [Head Coach Gary Smith] is seeing a group of guys who are excited, and they are not comfortable or happy with what happened last year. We want to achieve more and build off that success.”
