David Alaba

 ( 1992 Births ) 

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.

In January 2011, Alaba joined TSG Hoffenheim on loan until the end of the 2010–11 season. Later that month, he scored his first-ever goal in the Bundesliga in a 2–2 draw with FC St. Pauli.

On 5 December, Alaba scored his first Champions League goal in a 4–1 win over BATE Borisov in the 2012–13 season. On 18 December, Alaba was named Austrian Footballer of the Year for the second year running. On 2 April 2013, Alaba scored the seventh-fastest goal (25.02 seconds) in Champions League history to set Bayern on their way to a 2–0 win over Juventus FC. On 25 May, he played the full 90 minutes at left-back as Bayern beat Borussia Dortmund 2–1 in the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final.

On 18 December 2014, Alaba was named Austrian Footballer of the Year for the fourth year running. In January 2015, he was voted as the left-back in the UEFA.com Team of the Year 2014 by users (352,070 votes) for the second consecutive year. On 31 March, Alaba suffered a medial ligament damage in his left knee during Austria's 1–1 friendly draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Alaba missed the rest of the season for Bayern because of the injury.

During the 2019–20 season, Alaba was converted to the centre-back position, often partnering up with Jérôme Boateng, due to an injury crisis. He adapted to the position very well and soon became the leader of the defence. On 23 August 2020, he played the full 90 minutes at centre-back as Bayern beat Paris Saint-Germain 1–0 in the 2020 UEFA Champions League Final. Bayern Munich went on to have their second treble-winning season after 2012–13, and thereby Alaba securing his second continental treble in his career.

After several attempts to extend his contract, Alaba mentioned that Bayern Munich asked him earlier whether he was interested in a swap deal with Leroy Sané from Manchester City, which he considered as a "slap in the face". On 16 February 2021, Alaba announced that he would leave Bayern Munich following the 2020–21 season after thirteen years with the club.

On 10 August 2022, he got the opening goal in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt with Real Madrid going on to win 2–0. On 14 August 2022, he scored the winning goal for Real Madrid from a free kick in a 2–1 away victory against Almería.

During Real Madrid's La Liga match against Villarreal CF on 17 December 2023, Alaba suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, requiring surgery and an extended recovery period, which lasted about 13 months. Alaba's return on the pitch happened on 19 January 2025 in a 4–1 win against Las Palmas.

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 Wien's Dutch star Nacer Barazite (20 points) and VfB Stuttgart's Martin Harnik. In December 2012, he received the award for the second consecutive year. On 10 September 2013, Alaba scored the only goal of the game against Ireland in the 84-minute to give Austria a 1–0. He scored the final goal in Austria's 3–0 win in the final qualification match against Faroe Islands.

Alaba ended the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign as Austria's top scorer with six goals.

He scored a ninth-minute Panenka-style penalty kick on 8 September 2015 to open a 4–1 away win over Sweden at the Friends Arena in Solna. The result qualified Austria for UEFA Euro 2016, their first successful qualification campaign for the continental championship. Alaba played in all three group matches as Austria finished last in their group with one point.

On 24 March 2017, he captained Austria for the first time in a World Cup 2018 qualification game against Moldova in a 2–0 victory, deputizing in the absence of suspended captain Julian Baumgartlinger. Alaba played in eight matches as Austria failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Alaba captained Austria during the UEFA Euro 2020, in which they reached the knockout stages in that competition for the first time in their history.

On 17 June 2023, Alaba played his 100th match for Austria in a 1–1 away draw against Belgium during the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying. However, he was unable to feature in the UEFA Euro 2024 due to his long-term injury. Nonetheless, he was named as a "non-playing captain" for the team.