David Alaba successfully shifted from left-back to centre-back at FC Bayern in the first half of the season. He played a crucial part in Bayern's increased solidity towards the end of the year. On Wednesday he talked about his new role, the Doha training camp and the possible effect of Oliver Kahn joining the board of the German record champions. fcbayern.com has compiled the Austrian's most important statements.
David Alaba on...
...the training camp: It's very intense but really positive. You can see how everyone's going along. The alarm goes off at 7, the first run is at 7.30. You can see everyone's very, very hungry for the second half of the season. It's fun, everyone's going along and hitting the gas.
...being called chief of defence: It's a nice compliment. I try to pay back the trust put in me when I'm out on the pitch. I'm doing my best. It definitely means more responsibility. I'll gladly accept it, that's my ambition. It's part of my development.
...being a centre-back over the long term: I'm attack-minded, I'd like to join the attack from time to time. But the way we play at the moment is a lot of fun, at centre-back too. The way we perform as a team is a lot of fun. So I'm not thinking about it at this point.
„"You can tell that we can achieve a lot this year."”
David Alaba
...Bayern's current play: Taken altogether, the way we play suits us quite well. We players feel at ease, you can see that. But of course we had matches where we squandered chances, where we should have won but didn't. We must improve that in the second half of the season, we must be more ruthless up front and try to be a bit more solid in defence.
...the chemistry in the team: The atmosphere is truly outstanding, you can see that. We're getting along extremely well both on and off the pitch. We want to be successful together, and you can see that in every single training session. And you can tell we can achieve a lot this year.
...the best singing performances at the team get-together: Everyone was off-key, but Phonzie's [Alphonso Davies'] performance was very special, so he performed for a second time. So I'll give him a point.
Alphonso "Phonzie" Davies assesses his singing in our interview 👇🏻
...on the personnel situation: We know we don't have the biggest squad. Now a few players are ruled out, so it's a bit tight. It isn't ideal, but I'm convinced we have the squad to compensate for it. We have players who can stand in.
...Oliver Kahn's influence: It's good for us players and the club when such a legend returns. You can tell he'll definitely help us. It boosts us by a few percent, and we'll surely need them to make history in the upcoming second half of the season.
Oliver Kahn paid his first visit to a training session in Doha on Wednesday:
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