He’s the man who broke Irish hearts twice in this qualifying campaign, and the man who might have cost Trap his job
David Alaba is a player that those of you out there who watch the Bundesliga will be familiar with, and anyone who watched Ireland crash to defeat against Austria will more than likely want to forget. We’re sure a man by the name of Giovanni Trapattoni will certainly want to forget him after his contract was ended this morning by the FAI.
Alaba was born in Wien to a Filipino mother and a Nigerian father (George) who was a DJ and rapper, who was part of Austrian Pop/Dance duo Two in One. They had a few hits in Austria, and apparently ‘Indian Song’ is one of them.
David’s talent was spotted extremely early on by his local club Rapid Wien, who had him in their youth ranks by the time he was ten-years-old. He moved through the system incredibly quickly, and was named on the subs bench for Bundesliga matches by the time he was just 16-years-old.
Such rapid progression obviously caught the eye of many of the bigger clubs around, and it was Bayern Munich who took a chance on the youngster in 2008. They weren’t disappointed with the results either.
Once again he proved he was up to the challenge and went from playing in their youth team to lining out for their reserves in the 3. Liga. He didn’t last long there though, as by the time the 2009-10 season rolled around he was on the bench for the first team (becoming their youngest ever player in the process, which is a hugely impressive record), and was even named in Bayern’s Champions League squad for the season. It was 2010-11 where he really started to show his talents on the European stage however, and was a vital part of their campaign that saw them lose to Chelsea in the final.
In last season’s Champions League he was also important for the German side, but he missed the final through suspension, which was clearly a blow to the young Austrian, and will more than likely be a driving force behind him wanting to get back to the biggest stage again to display his talent.
Although his natural position is left back, under Guardiola, who has a desire to tinker with things, (and given how handy he looked in the middle of the park against us) he may well be given more responsibility and he certainly showed for the national side that he can be versatile and play in a range of positions.
For Austria, his record is also hugely impressive. He currently holds the record as their youngest ever debutant when he made his first appearance in October 2009 aged just 17, and despite still being only 21 years of age, he is by far and away their most talented player, as the Boys in Green found out to their cost last night.
He might well be known as the new Toto Schillaci after he broke Irish hearts with his goals in this qualification campaign (meaning that two of his five international goals have come against Ireland, 40% if you will) but with his talent, we won’t be the only nation who fall to Austria as a result of his talent at the heart of their team.
