Who will lift the chair?
David Alaba arrives to battle Chelsea after defeating Clasico
He provided the picture of the victory over PSG in the last eight of the Champions League with a chair lifted to the top, but since then the momentum of the Austrian star has turned 180 degrees.
Will he be able to recover against Chelsea who coveted him in the summer?
Michael Yochin
06/04/2022
Wednesday, April 06, 2022, 2:30 p.m.
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When David Alaba announced, somewhere in the middle of last season, his intention to leave Bayern Munich in the summer as a free agent and embark on a new adventure, Chelsea hoped to sign him.
The Blues knew full well that the Austrian preferred Real Madrid, and it was also clear as day that Los Blancos needed a defensive player much more than the Londoners in terms of staff depth, but the dream to sign for free such a quality and versatile player was tangible.
Antonio Rodiger was sent on a persuasion mission, and an attempt was also made to use the good relations with Agent Pini Zahavi.
In the end, the effort was in vain.
Alaba chose the destination without hesitation, and was happy to wear the white shirt at the Santiago Bernabeu.
He even got the number 4 vacated following the departure of captain Sergio Ramos.
Today, with Real racing for the Spanish championship, while Roman Abramovich's assets have been frozen and Chelsea's future is in the fog, it's clear he's not really regretting that choice.
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To the full article
Do not regret the choice.
David Alaba (Photo: Reuters)
Adaptation in Madrid was smooth, and after two very problematic games as a left-back in the opening rounds, the Austrian established himself as a stopper, alongside Adar Militau.
This collaboration is far from perfect, and it is not for nothing that Tibo Courtois was required to work hard, save Real many times and bring in points, but the bottom line was the results were positive.
Alaba even scored his only goal so far in his new team in the victory over Barcelona in the Clasico at the Camp Nou, and a month ago he even managed to bring himself even closer to the hearts of the fans.
When Karim Benzema completed his hat-trick in the insane comeback in the rematch against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League, the Austrian waved a plastic chair that stood by the grass and waved it in front of the jubilant fans.
This simple action went viral on social media, making Alaba the glorious symbol of victory.
"It was great. I didn't think about it, of course. You just sometimes do crazy things when emotions overwhelm you," the brakeman said - taking full advantage of the enthusiasm with a particularly popular Twitter tweet.
"Do not sit in our chair," he wrote, which may further become the motto of the whole of Real.
However, just 11 days later, someone came and sat them on the chair.
Barcelona dismantled Real 0: 4 at the Clasico at the Bernabeu, leaving no stone unturned from its defense.
Alaba and Militau were seen at times as amateurs who stumbled upon a meeting with a top group.
They failed to close the vacant territories, the rapid movements of Blaugrana's stars of the month caused them to completely lose the north, and only Courtois - he again!
Prevent defeat on an even more historic scale.
Even in the stationary situations, in which Alaba has contributed quite a bit since his arrival, a fiasco was recorded, and Ronald Araujo slammed the second goal unhindered after Osman Dembele’s corner, leaping right between the two brakes in black.
A poor delivery from Alaba led to Fran Torres' third goal, and when Pierre-Emerick Obmiang scored the fourth, it was the Austrian who broke the gap.
Compared to his first Clasico, it was a difference of heaven and earth - as if someone had dropped the white chair on his head.
Difference of heaven and earth compared to the first Clasico.
David Alaba after 4-0 (Photo: GettyImages, Angel Martinez)
Immediately afterwards, the relegation came in the playoffs for promotion to the World Cup.
Austria considered itself a favorite ahead of a visit to Wales in Cardiff, but it was the night of Gareth Bale.
The star who became irrelevant in Real Zohar with a spectacular double, while Alaba found it difficult to express himself and lead his teammates from the left-back position - although the team had hitherto tended to use him in a much more offensive role.
The Welsh have won 1-2, the ambition to play in the World Cup has faded, and may come true in 2026 - but then Alaba will already be 34. No matter how you look at it, the positive momentum is gone, and for the Champions League quarter-finals the star arrives in a downtrodden mood.
He also remembers well how the first encounter of his career against Chelsea became an ongoing nightmare for him a decade ago.
It was in the Champions League final, and Alaba was suspended from it because of an unjustified yellow card he reciprocated in the semi-final - the rival then was, quite ironically, Real Madrid.
In all, six players were absent from both teams at the time due to the accumulation of yellows, and the International Players' Organization even officially asked the UEFA to grant them a pardon.
For example, Alaba slipped and the ball was kicked next to him.
"It's not true that a star like him will miss the Champions League final because of that," it read. 1-1 in the 88th minute, and Chelsea celebrated a sensational title after a penalty shootout victory.
The goals and dreams at Bayern are over.
David Alaba after winning the Champions League in 2020 (Photo: GettyImages, David Ramos)
The compensation came quickly, because a year later Alaba played in the Champions League final, and even lifted the trophy at the end of 1: 2 over Dortmund at Wembley.
He also beat Chelsea in the European Super Cup on penalties in 2013, but the big and significant revenge on the Blues came in 2020.
He was already a brake, excelling when Bayern dismantled the Blues twice in the quarter-finals - 0-3 at Stamford Bridge in Alfonso Davis' private celebration in February, and 1-4 at the Allianz Arena in August.
Bayern then went on to win the Cup for the second time in his life, and this was the moment when his decision to leave ended at the end of his contract in the summer of 2021. He ran out of goals and dreams in Munich, and had to look for new challenges.
So now, that's the real challenge.
On paper, Real is a favorite against Chelsea, but Bayern were a much clearer favorite in the 2012 final.
No one will fall off the chair if the Blues take advantage of the holes in the back of the Spanish leader, and Alba has the task of preventing the failures that have been exposed more than once against Saint-Germain, and stood out with a thousand times greater intensity in the Clásico.
Otherwise, Rodiger - who is about to leave Chelsea as a free agent in the summer - will approach him after the final whistle and say: "I told you you had to join us."
sport
World football
Champions League
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David Alaba
Real Madrid