Back with Alaba

The transfer of David Alaba to Real Madrid last summer has gone from raising some doubts at the beginning to opening a real debate in Bayern Munich and its surroundings. The passage of months has shown that not having reached an agreement with the Austrian to renew his contract has been a serious blow to the defensive stability of the team. Its absence is becoming more and more evident and criticism has appeared.

First was Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, The Bayern legend was at the club when Alaba’s departure to Real Madrid was given the green light. A decision that, with the passage of time, recognizes that Bayern is paying. “Basically, I think everyone agrees that this exit should not have happened. Don’t forget, the boy grew up at Bayern Munich. He played there for 13 years and has always been an important part of Bayern’s DNA, ”he assured at Sky90. When asked again for the reasons that led Bayern and Alaba to not understand each other and to cause a breakup, he stated: “Unfortunately, everything got a bit stuck at some point. Either economically or atmospherically. That is difficult to assess now. The main thing is that, sadly, it is no longer there. I think this departure at least has not been duly compensated. I think in Alaba’s case we all did everything. Unfortunately, the whole thing got stuck somewhere. And he came to the conclusion that he wanted to leave the club because he obviously had a very interesting offer from Real Madrid. “

Hours later he joined this speech Lotthar Matthaus: the march to praise Real Madrid was a colossal mistake. “I agree with Rummenigge. Mainly because he was a player with a Bayern DNA who grew up in this club and who, to top it all, was allowed to go to Real Madrid for free. If you had gotten at least $ 30 million to $ 40 million for him, it would have been different. But such a player, who was almost incalculable both defensively on the field and in the hierarchy in the locker room, it would have been better to keep it “he said on Sky. For Matthaus, both Upamecano, Alaba’s substitute at Bayern, and Lucas Hernández, still lack time to reach the level of sense of belonging with the club and the team’s play that the now Real Madrid defender had: “They are great defenders , but they still lack identification and a bit of position in the team. One came from abroad injured, the other is very young and needs time… ”.

David Alaba arrived at Real Madrid this summer after not renewing with Bayern and has adapted to the white team at breakneck speed. After more than a decade in the Bundesliga and acting mainly as a center-back at Bayern, it was yet to be seen how he landed in the Madrid defense and the results offer little doubt. Alaba is already the head of Madrid’s defense and also an important footballer in the attack phase: he has scored a goal, has given three assists and has played all the games in which he has been available and being a starter (he only missed one, against Celta, due to muscular problems). The Austrian has become a mainstay for Ancelotti, just as he was in Munich, where now they pull their hair out to see him triumph in white.