“At first, I would sit alone in a restaurant at 20:00 …”

David praise He signed for Real Madrid last summer and fitted like a glove in the white team from the start. The Austrian defender He did not need that time of adaptation that all newcomers to a new squad and a new country require and, together with Militao, he has made the Ramos-Varane regime forget. Last January 1, in the magazine Delivery man, Alaba reviewed his first months as a madridista and acknowledged that “many do not speak English, which forces me to speak Spanish. “ And this Tuesday, in an interview in Southgerman newspaper, re-emphasized the need to learn the language of the destination to accelerate that acclimatization process: “It was extremely important. I still remember from my time at Bayern the importance attached to integration in these types of clubs. The Bayern physiotherapists have always encouraged me to speak to foreign players in German so that they can get in as quickly as possible… “.

Alaba spent 13 years at Bayern, a whole sporting life accustomed to the habits of the German team and the country. Those customs outside of football are what most caught the attention of the white defender when he landed in Madrid. In this interview in Süddeutsche Zeitung he told an anecdote that perfectly reflects the difference between Spain and other European countries: “Times have been a great change for me. Especially in summer, life comes to a complete standstill in the afternoons. And when I wanted to have dinner at first, I would often sit alone in the restaurant at 20:00. The first customers entered these restaurants when it was over… “.

The white defender turned the spotlight to Ancelotti And he did not spare his coach, who already had him in Munich: Of course you can tell that he speaks perfect Spanish. But everyone in Munich understood it well, everyone spoke very good English. He is a first-rate person and brings an incredible experience, he loves his job and he tries to continue developing ourselves as players so that we always perform at the highest level. What impressed me the most was that, how hungry he is yet to succeed. “