David Alaba facts for kids
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Alaba with Bayern Munich in 2019
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Alaba | ||
| Date of birth | 24 June 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Vienna, Austria | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Real Madrid | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2002 | SV Aspern | ||
| 2002–2008 | Austria Wien | ||
| 2008–2009 | Bayern Munich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | Austria Wien II | 5 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | Bayern Munich II | 33 | (1) |
| 2010–2021 | Bayern Munich | 281 | (22) |
| 2011 | → 1899 Hoffenheim (loan) | 17 | (2) |
| 2021– | Real Madrid | 68 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2007–2009 | Austria U17 | 20 | (5) |
| 2010 | Austria U19 | 5 | (1) |
| 2009–2010 | Austria U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2009– | Austria | 105 | (15) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:19, 19 January 2025 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 01:40, 21 November 2023 (UTC) |
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David Alaba (born 24 June 1992) is a professional football player from Austria. He plays as a defender for the Spanish club Real Madrid and is the captain of the Austrian national team.
Many people think David Alaba is one of the best defenders in the world. He is known for being able to play in many different positions. He is also great at handling the ball and helping his team both defend and attack. While he often plays as a left defender for his clubs, he plays more forward roles for Austria, sometimes even as a midfielder.
Alaba started his journey in the Bayern Munich youth teams. He then moved up to their reserve team. In 2011, he played for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for a short time. After that, he returned to Bayern and became a key player for the main team.
He played over 400 games for Bayern Munich. He won an amazing 27 trophies with them! This includes ten Bundesliga titles (Germany's top league) and two UEFA Champions League titles in 2013 and 2020. Both of these Champions League wins were part of a "treble," meaning his team won three major trophies in one season. He was also named in the UEFA Team of the Year three times.
In 2021, Alaba joined Real Madrid. In his very first season, he helped them win the La Liga title (Spain's top league), the Supercopa, and another Champions League title.
David Alaba is one of Austria's youngest players ever to play for their senior national team. He first played for them in 2009 when he was just 17 years old. He has played over 100 games for his country and represented Austria in major tournaments like UEFA Euro 2016 and UEFA Euro 2020. He is widely seen as one of the greatest Austrian players of all time. He has won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award ten times!
Contents
Club Career
Early Days
David Alaba was born in Vienna, Austria. He started playing football at a local club called SV Aspern. When he was 10, he joined the youth team of FK Austria Wien. He quickly moved up through the different age groups.
In April 2008, when he was still young, he was put on the bench for a first-team match in the Austrian Bundesliga. He also played five games for Austria Wien's reserve team. In the summer of 2008, he moved to Germany to join Bayern Munich.
Time at Bayern Munich
Starting Out and Loan Spell
Alaba began his time at Bayern in their youth system. He played for the under-17 and under-19 teams. Then, for the 2009–10 season, he was moved up to the reserve team. He played his first professional game in August 2009 and scored his first goal for the reserve team later that month.
He was also part of Bayern Munich's squad for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League season. In January 2010, he started training with the first team. On 10 February 2010, he made his debut for the main Bayern team in a cup game. He came on as a substitute and, just one minute later, helped set up a goal! He became Bayern's youngest player ever in a competitive game, at 17 years, 7 months, and 8 days old.
In January 2011, Alaba went on loan to TSG 1899 Hoffenheim until the end of the season. He scored his first goal in the Bundesliga (Germany's top league) while playing for Hoffenheim.
Becoming a Star
Alaba came back to Bayern at the start of the 2011–12 season. He quickly became a regular player in the first team. On 23 October 2011, he scored his first league goal for Bayern. In December, he was named Austrian Footballer of the Year for the first time.
He became a key starter for Bayern in the second half of the season. In April 2012, he played in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid. Bayern won the game after a penalty shootout, and Alaba scored their first penalty. However, he couldn't play in the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final because he had received too many yellow cards.
On 5 December 2012, Alaba scored his first Champions League goal for Bayern. In December, he won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award for the second year in a row. In April 2013, he scored a very fast goal (the seventh-fastest at the time) in a Champions League game against Juventus. On 25 May, he played the whole game as Bayern beat Borussia Dortmund 2–1 in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final.
Winning Trophies
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During the 2013–14 season, Alaba played in several important matches. These included the German Supercup, the UEFA Super Cup, and two games in the FIFA Club World Cup. In December 2013, he signed a new contract with Bayern Munich. He also won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award for the third time. In January 2014, he was named the best left-back in the UEFA Team of the Year.
In December 2014, Alaba won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award for the fourth time. In January 2015, fans voted him as the best left-back in the UEFA.com Team of the Year for the second year in a row. However, in March, he got a knee injury while playing for Austria. This meant he missed the rest of the season for Bayern.
Moving to Centre-Back
In August 2015, Alaba made a mistake that led to a very quick goal against his old club, Hoffenheim. In December, he won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award for the fifth time in a row. In January 2016, he was again voted into the UEFA.com Team of the Year. In March, he extended his contract with Bayern until 2021. In December, he won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award for the sixth time! In February 2018, he played his 200th Bundesliga game for Bayern.
During the 2019–20 season, Alaba started playing as a centre-back. This happened because many other defenders were injured. He quickly got used to this new position and became a leader in the team's defense. On 23 August 2020, he played the full game as Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 in the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final. This win helped Bayern achieve their second "treble" (winning three major trophies in one season), and it was Alaba's second treble too!
Saying Goodbye to Bayern
After many tries to get him to sign a new contract, Alaba said that Bayern Munich had asked him if he wanted to be part of a player swap deal. He felt this was disrespectful. On 16 February 2021, Alaba announced that he would leave Bayern Munich after 13 years with the club.
Joining Real Madrid
On 28 May 2021, the Spanish club Real Madrid announced that they had signed David Alaba. He joined them on 1 July and took over the number 4 jersey, which was famously worn by their previous captain, Sergio Ramos.
He played his first game for Real Madrid on 14 August 2021. He scored his first goal for the club on 24 October in a big game against Barcelona, known as El Clásico. He was only the second Austrian player ever to score in an El Clásico match. On 6 April 2022, Alaba played his 100th Champions League game.
On 10 August 2022, he scored the first goal in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt, which Real Madrid won 2–0. On 14 August 2022, he scored the winning goal for Real Madrid from a free kick.
In December 2023, Alaba suffered a serious knee injury (a torn ACL) during a game. This required surgery and meant he would be out of action for about 13 months. He made his return to the field on 19 January 2025.
Playing for Austria
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David Alaba played for Austria's national teams at different age levels: under-17, under-19, and under-21. In October 2009, he was called up to the senior Austrian national team for a game against France. He made his debut in this game, becoming the youngest player ever to play for the Austrian national team. He scored his first goal for Austria on 16 October 2012 in a World Cup Qualifying game.
When he was just 19, Alaba won the Austrian Footballer of the Year award in 2011. He won it again in December 2012. On 10 September 2013, Alaba scored the only goal in a 1–0 win against Ireland. He also scored the final goal in Austria's 3–0 win against the Faroe Islands.
Alaba was Austria's top scorer in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification games, with six goals.
On 8 September 2015, he scored a special penalty kick (called a "Panenka") in a 4–1 win against Sweden. This win helped Austria qualify for UEFA Euro 2016, which was their first time successfully qualifying for the European Championship. Alaba played in all three group matches at Euro 2016.
On 24 March 2017, he was the captain for Austria for the first time in a World Cup qualification game. He played in eight matches, but Austria did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Alaba was the captain for Austria during UEFA Euro 2020. Under his leadership, Austria reached the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time in their history.
On 17 June 2023, Alaba played his 100th game for Austria. However, he was unable to play in UEFA Euro 2024 due to his long-term injury. Even so, he was named as a "non-playing captain" for the team, showing his importance.
How He Plays
David Alaba is a very flexible player. He often plays as a left-back, but he can also play as a centre-back, a central midfielder, or a left midfielder. While he might not be the fastest player, he has a very powerful left foot.
Besides being good at defending, he is also known for his attacking skills. He can read the game well, carry the ball forward, and make good passes to his teammates. People have noticed his talent since he was young. He is also known for his strong mindset, always playing well, and being a leader on the field.
His Life Off the Field
Alaba was born in Vienna. His father, George, is from Nigeria and is a prince from the Yoruba people. He is also a rapper and a DJ. His mother, Gina, is from the Philippines and moved to Vienna to work as a nurse. David has one sister, Rose May Alaba, who is a professional singer. David Alaba is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Outside Football
David Alaba was chosen to be on the cover of the video games FIFA 15 and FIFA 16 in Austria, alongside Lionel Messi.
Honours and Awards
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
- DFB-Pokal: 2009–10, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19, 2019–20
- DFL-Supercup: 2016, 2018, 2020
- UEFA Champions League: 2012–13, 2019–20
- UEFA Super Cup: 2013, 2020
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2013, 2020
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2021–22, 2023–24
- Copa del Rey: 2022–23
- Supercopa de España: 2022
- UEFA Champions League: 2021–22, 2023–24
- UEFA Super Cup: 2022
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2022
Individual
- Austrian Footballer of the Year: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
- Austrian Sports Personality of the Year: 2013, 2014
- FIFA FIFPro World11: 2021
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2013, 2014, 2015
- UEFA Champions League Team of the Group stage: 2015–16
- UEFA Champions League Squad of the Season: 2019–20, 2020–21
- ESM Team of the Year: 2013–14
- France Football World XI: 2015
- Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2014–15, 2015–16
- ESPN FC Best Left-Back 2016
- La Liga Team of the Season: 2021–22
See also
In Spanish: David Alaba para niños
- List of footballers with 100 or more UEFA Champions League appearances
