Soccer
For David Alaba there is a dense sporting program in the coming weeks with his club Real Madrid and the ÖFB team in the Nations League. Before the game marathon begins for the 30-year-old, however, Alaba opened a “football cage” in Arenbergpark in Vienna on Monday followingnoon together with the City of Vienna and its long-term partner adidas. It was an “emotional day” for the ÖFB team player, as he made the leap from the city’s recreational soccer fields to the big soccer world.
Alaba himself played in a cage in Vienna almost every followingnoon during his childhood and youth. That’s another reason why the opening was an emotional affair for him. “I grew up in such cages. That’s where my journey began. Being on this pitch now is very special,” said Alaba. As soon as he stepped onto the recreational soccer field, he was able to recognize his “young self” in the children and remembered that time.
A special moment was the unveiling of a mural. This work of art is located directly next to the outline of the playing field on the wall of a bunker, is 30 meters wide and eight meters high and depicts the individual career steps of the three-time Champions League winner. From the professional beginnings at Wiener Austria to the extremely successful time at FC Bayern Munich to the current station Real Madrid and the numerous appearances in the Austrian national team. Alaba felt “goosebumps” at the unveiling.
Alaba has a dense program
There will be little free time for David Alaba in the coming weeks. After a short visit to Vienna, a gaming marathon is now waiting for him. With Real Madrid as champions and Champions League winners and with the ÖFB team in the Nations League.
Meanwhile, the new recreational soccer field was also inaugurated. In a twelve-minute match, the Real Madrid pro and friends competed once morest a selected team. Alaba promised to stop by this place from time to time in the future to “gamble” a bit with his boys. Otherwise, the cage will primarily be used by the city’s young sports enthusiasts. “I want it to be a vibrant place where kids have the opportunity to live out what they aspire to and dream regarding,” Alaba said.
Alaba is facing a dense program
Alaba is currently in the middle of preparations with Real Madrid. He only returned from a two-week trip to the USA on Sunday. The team is already in good shape and the goals for the coming season have already been set: “At the end of the season we want to be at the top of the championship once more and get as far as possible in the Champions League. Real Madrid stands for success,” said Alaba. On August 10, the Supercup final will take place once morest Eintracht Frankfurt, four days later Real will start the new LaLiga season.
In autumn, the national team should then succeed in staying in League A of the Nations League. “You can see how much fun it is to play once morest teams like this in this group. And then you can see the euphoria in my home town of Vienna and in the stadiums. We work hard for games like this and we want to stay there,” said Alaba in an ORF interview.
