David Alaba, First Comments as an Udinese Player

It’s David Alaba’s day at Udinese: after a preliminary agreement was confirmed on Wednesday, the contract was signed 24 hours later, tying the Austrian defender to the Friuli-based club through June 30. Born in 1992, Alaba is coming off a long stint with Real Madrid, which ended on July 1 following the expiration of the five-year contract he signed in 2021.

The Austrian defender shared his first words as an Udinese player on the club’s social media: “Hello to all the fans, thank you so much for the warm welcome. I can’t wait to get started—let’s join forces. Forza Udinese.” Just a few simple words from the 34-year-old from Vienna, who also played in this year’s World Cup as captain of the Austrian national team.

In fact, this marks David Alaba’s first stint in Italy: Having come up through the youth systems of SV Aspern and Austria Vienna, the defender moved to Bayern Munich in 2008, beginning a thirteen-year stint with the Bavarians (including part of the 2010–2011 season on loan at Hoffenheim). With Bayern, Alaba won the Bundesliga ten times, the Champions League twice, and the Club World Cup twice, in addition to six German Cups, six German Super Cups, and two UEFA Super Cups.

After joining Real Madrid in 2021, he added two La Liga titles and two Spanish Super Cups, one Copa del Rey, two more Champions League titles, one Club World Cup, and one FIFA Intercontinental Cup to his trophy case. On an individual level, he holds the record for the most selections as Austria’s Player of the Year: a total of ten, between 2011 and 2023. The first opportunity to see him in action in the top flight will come on November 12, when Udinese faces Torino on the road.