PROUDLY HALF-PINOY. David Alaba’s father, George (left), is from Nigeria, while mother, Gina, is from the Philippines. On Friday (May 28, 2021), it was confirmed that Alaba signed up with Real Madrid in the Spanish football tournament LaLiga. (Photo courtesy of Futbal News)
MANILA – Professional football player David Alaba has the flags of the Philippines, Nigeria, and Austria on his playing shoes.
The Vienna-born Alaba, who turns 29 this month, was born to a Nigerian father and a Visayan mother who met in Austria in the 1980s while pursuing different careers.
Real Madrid, one of the heavyweights in the Spanish football league LaLiga, announced on May 28, 2021, the signing of Alaba to a five-year contract.
“Real Madrid has reached an agreement with David Alaba, who will be linked to the club for the next five seasons," Madrid said in a statement, adding that Alaba will be presented as a Real player after the ongoing Euro 2020 tournament in mid-July.
Alaba previously suited up for Bayern Munich in the German league Bundesliga.
Alaba’s mother, Gina, was a nurse and a former beauty queen in the Philippines.
His father, George, is a Nigerian prince who went to Vienna to study Economics, was the first black guard soldier in the Austrian Army and is a musician.
Alaba has a younger sister, Rose May, a singer and songwriter who has released a number of chart-topping songs in Austria.
Real Madrid fans still remember how Alaba, two months shy of his 20th birthday, slotted home a penalty against Spanish club in a Champions League semifinal penalty shootout in 2012.
Since then, Alaba has won almost every trophy he’s competed for: two Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, two Club World Cups, 10 Bundesliga titles, and six German Cups.
Alaba is the third player with Filipino roots to play for Real Madrid after Spanish Eduardo Teus, who was born in Manila in 1896, and France goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, whose parents are both from the Philippines, in the 2019-20 season.
Paulino Alcantara, also born in 1896 in Concepcion, Iloilo to a Spanish military officer and an Ilongga mother, played for another Spanish club, Barcelona where he started at 15 years old.
Alcantara played for the Philippine team in 1917 before becoming a doctor and later on, coach and manager of the Spanish national team.
Bayern talent scout Werner Kern once described Alaba as an “exceptional talent with an excellent attitude” and “can go very far".
“Talent is one thing, but attitude and desire is another, and David has this undying desire to improve and develop," Kern said of Alaba when he first moved to Bayern. (PR)
