The details
PSG, Barcelona and Chelsea were the three teams, in addition to Madrid, that knocked on the door of Pini Zahavi, Alaba’s representative, when it became known that the Austrian was not going to renew his contract with Bayern after 13 seasons. The white club was the last to bid. But when Alaba crossed her path, she didn’t hesitate for a second. “Going to Madrid I will fulfill a dream,” he told his agent. Alaba, who turns 30 today, kissed the saint as soon as she arrived. Three titles, the League, the Champions League and the Spanish Super Cup, which joins a track record that was already enviable and which included two more Champions League titles and 10 Bundesliga titles. In fact, a champion arrived in Madrid. Alaba has been a leader in the Valdebebas locker room since he set foot on it. His teammates recognize him as such… “Many (in the team) don’t speak English, which forces me to speak Spanish,” he recently joked in an interview with Kurier. With the mission accomplished in his first season at Madrid, Alaba now faces a new challenge. The change of role (towards the left-hander) was forced by the arrival of Rüdiger, who will presumably form a central pair with Militao. Last season Alaba played, with Ancelotti, 42 games as a central defender and only 4 as a left back. But his versatility is beyond doubt.
The details
With Flick, in his last season at Bayern, he played 32 games as a central defender, but also nine as a defensive midfielder, three more as a midfielder and one as a winger. Perhaps for that reason (for playing so much in the middle just before arriving at the Bernabéu),the only thing missing in his statistics is the loss of the impact index in the construction of the game since he has been playing for Madrid. “I am a flexible player and I will give it my all, no matter where I play,” Alaba warned in his presentation. At 30 years old, he is a leader in Madrid and acts as such.