#27 - David Alaba

aleumdance wrote:

Ade wrote:Austrians compared to big brother are so weak in the talent pool of footballers

they have Bruno

Haha indeed

Austria is my second home too (have no Austrian blood if wondering)

Another Van Gaal Wonder, rated him as a left back and you Would Wonder if he Should Claim The Position for Himself, did so well there. Had shaqiri in his Pocket and Connected well with Billah

He's very well rounded and a great talent, but it would be a waste to play him at left back, to be honest. In my eyes, he's a future Schweinsteiger replacement or deputy. He should stick to playing CM.

This season, though, I have no complaints on him playing LB, since I don't know where Contento went and we have no one else. Lahm is just so much better in his strong footed position. Ribéry is good enough to not need Lahm to shine, and Alaba ain't bad at all going up.

We need a starting LB this summer... Or maybe give Contento a chance although logically we're better off with a more physical, tall fullback considering we have Lahm on the other flank.

It's time to bring that Belgian guy that plays in Ajax as their captain in. Plus Dante and our defense is sorted

Idrisozet wrote:It's time to bring that Belgian guy that plays in Ajax as their captain in. Plus Dante and our defense is sorted

speaking of Vertonghen? he wants Premier League football btw.

Sushi Master wrote:He's very well rounded and a great talent, but it would be a waste to play him at left back, to be honest. In my eyes, he's a future Schweinsteiger replacement or deputy. He should stick to playing CM.

This season, though, I have no complaints on him playing LB, since I don't know where Contento went and we have no one else. Lahm is just so much better in his strong footed position. Ribéry is good enough to not need Lahm to shine, and Alaba ain't bad at all going up.

We need a starting LB this summer... Or maybe give Contento a chance although logically we're better off with a more physical, tall fullback considering we have Lahm on the other flank.

"Future Schweinsteiger replacement" Until then you would want him to occupy the bench ?Because he quite honestly is Bayern starting material especially when i look at your defense.

I see Alaba in a more of a b2b role than DM..With Schweinsteiger around who wont be leaving bayern anytime soon or ever he would have to play the DM role than in his natural B2B role.

So why waste his talent by keeping him on the bench ?Rather put him as fullback who offers much more defensive security than a Rafinha for example.He is a player who should be playing week in week out in my opinion.That is vital for his development.

The necessity of the team right now is a fullback and Alaba shows that he is more than comfortable with that role.

Plus he would be playing in midfield here and there in case of injuries and rotation.

Listen to Surag, his post is very wise
Playing time is the most important point for youngsters

Obviously my definition of "Schweinsteiger replacement" is different from yours. He can play anywhere and would get loads of playing time, being slowly introduced to the first team. I mean, he can play LW, CM, LB... But I feel he's best suited for CM, the role Schweini plays. Any half decent fullback can do the job, but quality CMs are harder to find.

I did not mean rotting him on the bench. He already had a good loan spell at Hoffeinheim and that was enough.

I'm also an Arsenal fan so I have huge patience with youth, dudes

He could be the missing link indeed. The way the market is set, you won't find quality leftbacks, you make them :lol!:

Pretty much. Coentrao was the last decent talent left. Can't think of any walk-into-starting-XI type guys available.

Alaba is made for that leftback position. He was such a boss throughout the game. Positioning was A, defence also, helped out in offence and did much more. I think Bayern's defence is finally competent in all back four.

According to the coach, he's one of the best players in the club no wonder he's Austria best player at 19, what a star and a talent.

Boateng game has really improve, also Badstuber is just joy to watch this days.

The only thing missing is for Dante to join them, I like how he missed the penalty, he did it for his future club, you really can not blame him

Looooooooooooooooool.

The defense is as tight as ever so I can't really complain. The Boatstuber combination can go places if they develop with age. Maybe a young CB to replace Breno would be good, since proven CBs are either expensive as hell or impossible to get.

See. You should have trusted in Badstuber (and Boateng) from the start. Only when you actually trust in a young player, he can properly develop and then he'll repay that trust in spades. Same goes for Alaba, btw. Very bright talent.

Alaba finally got tested against in-form wingers, and he still looked very, very good. Bayerns back-four might finally be good. And I'm loving Lahm back at RB.

rwo power wrote:See. You should have trusted in Badstuber (and Boateng) from the start. Only when you actually trust in a young player, he can properly develop and then he'll repay that trust in spades. Same goes for Alaba, btw. Very bright talent.

Please, don't mix BAD-stuber in with Alaba thread. We're talking about Alaba and he did well. BAD-stuber blows hot and cold.

Stubsi had a boss game though, yesterday, so if we don't contest his lack of consistency, I'll claim this as one of his good matches.

VivaStPauli wrote:Stubsi had a boss game though, yesterday, so if we don't contest his lack of consistency, I'll claim this as one of his good matches.

Fair, he played really well yesterday but the topic is about Alaba and his development as leftback. No need to bring up Badstuber in every topic. If he gets consistent with his showings people will start talking about him by themselves...

Just so you know where to praise him : https://goallegacy.forumotion.com/t751-28-holger-badstuber-official-player-thread?highlight=Badstuber

I'm also talking to you, Mäuschen ( lurker ). I'm annoyed at random BAD-stuber references. You're like Messi/ CR7 fanboy. He's got a thread dedictated to himself and you could make one in gen section if you're eager but no need to derail other threads.

Full name: David Olatukunbo Alaba
Date of birth: 24 June 1992 (age 19)
Place of birth: Vienna, Austria
Height: 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position: leftback, left wing, central midfield ( currently playing leftback)

David Alaba (born 24 June 1992 in Vienna) is an Austrian international footballer who plays for Bayern Munich. He usually plays as a left or central midfielder, but has on occasion also been used as a left back.

Club History

Alaba began his career with SV Aspern, the club of his Vienna neighbourhood Aspern in the 22nd district, Donaustadt, before joining the youth setup of Austrian giants Austria Vienna at age 10. He rose through the ranks quickly, and in April 2008 he was named on the first-team substitutes' bench for a Bundesliga match. He also played five times for Austria Vienna's reserve team, before leaving in summer 2008 to join German Bundesliga side Bayern Munich.

He started out in Bayern's youth system, playing for the U-17 and U-19 teams, before being promoted to the reserve team for the 2009–10 season. He made his debut in a 3. Liga match against Dynamo Dresden in August 2009 and scored on 29 August 2009 his first professional goal for FC Bayern Munich II. He has been named in Bayern Munich's squad for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, where he has been assigned the shirt number 27. In January 2010, it was announced that Alaba would train with the first-team for the rest of the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mates Diego Contento and Mehmet Ekici.

The trio were named on the first-team substitutes' bench for the first time on 10 February 2010, for a DFB-Pokal game against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, and Alaba came on in the 59th minute, replacing Christian Lell. After one minute on the pitch, and with his second touch of the game, he set up Franck Ribéry to give Bayern a 3–2 lead, in a match they went on to win 6–2. He also became Bayern's youngest ever player in a competitive fixture, at 17 years, 7 months and 8 days old. At age 17 years, 8 months and 13 days, he made his UEFA Champions League debut against ACF Fiorentina on 9 March 2010.

In Bayern's first team under Louis van Gaal, he has often played as a left back, as well as his usual left or central midfield position. On 23 October 2011, Alaba scored his first league goal for Bayern in the 1–2 away loss against Hannover 96. During the second half of the 2011–12 Bundesliga season, he established himself as a starter for Bayern.

At the age of just 19, Alaba won the prestigious vote for Austrian Footballer of the Year in 2011. In the poll organised by APA (Austrian press agency) among the coaches of the ten Austrian Bundesliga clubs, Alaba finished top on 21 points, just ahead of Austria Vienna's Dutch star Nacer Barazite (20 points) and VfB Stuttgart's Martin Harnik (13).
[edit] International career

Alaba has played for Austria at under-17 and under-21 level. In October 2009, he was called up to the senior Austria national team for a match against France. He made his debut in this game, making him the youngest player in the history of the national team.

Coaching career

He also assisted with the coaching of Bayern Munich's U-11 team in 2008–09

Personal life

Alaba was born in Vienna to a Filipino mother (a nurse) and a Nigerian father (a DJ and former rapper).

I made his official players thread because there was none

Here, an interesting article in tz-online.de where Ribery describes how he mentors Alaba. In other words, their chemistry goes beyond leftback->leftwing ( no homo) :girn:

http://www.tz-online.de/sport/fc-bayern/sonderlob-alaba-richtig-guter-junge-2265838.html

Raw Translation:

Mentor Ribéry: I'm Helping Alaba.

Munich - Bayern has a new dream axis on the left side! Franck Ribery and apprentice David Alaba are unstinting in their mutual praise. The Frenchman regards himself as a mentor.

Ivica Olic scored both goals in Bayern's 2-0 home game victory over Olympic Marseille. But the Croatian knew whom he had to thank - the assistants Franck Ribery and David Alaba. Both have shown themselves in top form for several weeks now - and are forming a new left-side dream axis.

Even personally, the two harmonise superbly. For a long time the 19 year old Alaba and the 27 year old Ribery have been friends - in which the Frenchman functions as a sort of mentor. "I talk a lot with him", he explained to Sky, after the final whistle. "Of course, I tell him when he plays a pass to slowly, but I always remain positive in it. He needs that, and it is very important."

Ribery feels comfortable with the Austrian behind him. "He is a really good young fellow. He is only 19 years old, and has a lot of quality. He plays well, and I'm very happy when such a young fellow plays here for us.

Alaba gratefully returns the praise. "I have a good understanding with him", he explained on Sky in broad Viennese dialect. The fact that funny-man Ribery happily makes jokes about him, Alaba can take in his stride, because he is also a sunny personality. "Sometimes he says 'Bist deppart' [= are you stupid], but he can't say much else", he explains about Ribery's imitation of his dialect.

At FC Bayern, Alaba is going through the best phase yet of his still young career. The trainee midfielder can see himself now as a first-eleven player in the left-back position. "I must thank the team and the manager and the coaching team", he emphasises, "because they support me completely. They help me in every way, whether on or off the pitch. That does a young man like me a lot of good."

Our coach described him as one of the best player in Bayern, I think he has more talent than Muller.

BTW, I just stumbled over a Van Gaal quote from 2009 when Alaba originally mainly played in midfield. Already then Van Gaal said "The boy is a perfect Left Back, he just doesn't know it yet."

I think Bayern should consider hiring Van Gaal as talent scout, he might be more valuable in that respect than as coach

BTW, I think Bayern can count themselves lucky they refused to shell out 30mio Euros for Coentrao. Their own players seem to bring them quite a lot of joy.

A 19y old midfielder who was played leftback, conceded a penalty at the start of the game with a yellow card. He is suspended from the final.
Then he went on and bossed his flank all night, him and Marcelo were MOTM in my books. He even took the first penalty like a boss.

I saw a future star our there. I've been saying for quite a while he is a quality leftback.


Also hi to Bundesliga haters (honorable mentions to free_cat)! I said before the CL campaign started that Bayern are one of strongest teams in the world. People thought I was trolling :lol!: I said EPL is in decline, still laughing :lol!:

No league is the best, just watch what you like to follow.

that kid... I was really astonished  

The youth Bayern has brought up in recent years is amazing. Very underrated.

Last time I made a thread about him, I was called an idiot.