Everything you need to know about Real Madrid's defensive leader.
David Alaba is a professional footballer from Austria who was born on June 24, 1992, in Vienna. He started his youth career with a local club called SV Aspern and then moved to the youth academy of Austria Wien in 2002. Alaba made his professional debut with Austria Wien's reserve team in 2008 and then joined Bayern Munich in the summer of 2008.
During his time at Bayern Munich, Alaba established himself as one of the best left-backs in the world. He won numerous domestic and international titles with the club, including 10 Bundesliga titles, six DFB-Pokals, two UEFA Champions League titles, two FIFA Club World Cups. He played a crucial role in Bayern Munich's treble-winning seasons in 2012-13 and 2019-20.
In addition to his success with Bayern Munich, Alaba has also been a regular member of the Austrian national team since 2009. At the time of writing, he has 99 caps for his country and has played in two European Championships and one World Cup.
In 2021, Alaba signed a five-year contract with Real Madrid, where he has primarily played as a centre-back. He has continued to impress with his defensive abilities, as well as his ability to initiate attacks from the back.
Off the field, Alaba is known for his philanthropy and advocacy work. He has supported various charitable causes.
But what are some of the fun facts you absolutely have to know about the defender?
Diverse roots
The Alaba family is truly global in scope. A Nigerian royal, David's father George originally came to Vienna to study economics before joining the Austrian army as the first black guard soldier. He is now a DJ and artist. Gina, David's mother, is a nurse who in the 1980s won the title of Miss Philippines, where she was born.
David frequently gets the Filipino flag sewn onto his boots, and after Bayern won the 2012–2013 UEFA Champions League final at Wembley, he hoisted the Nigerian flag on the pitch.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe second youngest ever player for the Austrian national team
When David Alaba made his debut for the Austrian senior national team in October 2009 against France, no one really knew him. He was not one of those burgeoning youngsters making a name for himself in Europe.
What made him a bit famous, though, was a record that attached to him when he played against France. At 17 years and 112 days, Alaba was named the youngest player to ever turn out for Austria.
However, some reports have stated that the former Bayern Munich defender is, in fact, the second youngest player to represent Austria.
On November 4, 1917, in a match between Austria and Hungary, goalkeeper Ernst Walter Joachim started in goal for Austria, making his international debut.
He was 16 years and 305 days old when he made his debut, but this wasn't reported by the contemporary press.
Youngest player at the time to debut for Bayern's first team
When Bayern Munich signed Alaba from FK Austria Wien in 2008, he started out by playing for the age level groups in the Bayern academy.
Ahead of the 2009-10 season, the-then 17-year-old was promoted to the reserve team. He trained with the first team occasionally and was named in several first team squads.
It wasn't until the second half of the season that Alaba would be handed his debut for the first team. On February 10, 2010, in a DFB-Pokal game against Greuther Fürth, Alaba was introduced from the bench in the 59th minute.
With just his second touch of the game, the teenager set Franck Ribéry up for a goal that put Bayern ahead in the game. Not only did he get an assist on his debut, but also became the youngest player in Bayern history to appear for the first team in a competitive fixture, at 17 years, seven months, and eight days.
Made his international debut before making top-flight debut
As mentioned earlier, Alaba made his top-flight debut in February 2010 with Bayern Munich. However, he had already made his international debut for Austria almost four months earlier, in October 2009.
Despite the fact that Alaba was still representing Bayern Munich's B squad at the time, Dietmar Constantini, the Austrian coach, granted him his senior football debut at the Stade de France due to his unmistakable potential.