At the end of 2019 FC Bayern founded its own esports team, which competes with numerous other football clubs in the eFootball PES video game. In Alejandro Alguacil Segura, known as Alex Alguacil, the team has a player in its ranks who has already celebrated numerous successes. fcbayern.com introduces you to the Spaniard who is helping the Munich-based team achieve esports success.
Many kids dream of one day playing for a big football club. This was also the case for Alex Alguacil, but he's been able to fulfil his dream in a slightly different way. After the Spaniard played for FC Barcelona for a year, he moved to FC Bayern in December 2019 - to the esports team. "As a child, I would never have dared to dream of being a part of FC Bayern. It's fantastic," he says.
Online and in daily contact
Also keen to celebrate triumphs with FCB: José Carlos Sánchez, Miguel Mestre, Matthias Luttenberger and Alex Alguacil (from left).
Currently, the eFootball.Pro League is also taking a break from its events schedule, but the FCB esports team has an advantage over the real footballers in terms of training. "This situation is terrible for everyone. At the moment everyone spends a lot of time at home, sitting in front of the TV and computer. But at least we're used to being at home a lot, after all our job is being in front of a console, and we can train online," says the 22-year-old, who lives in Granada in the south of Spain. Alguacil is still in daily contact with his team-mates José Carlos Sánchez and Miguel Mestre as well as the Austrian coach Matthias Luttenberger through Playstation. "The good thing is that each of us is very motivated for a potential season finale. We've had a fantastic season so far."
In the eFootball.pro League, FC Bayern are second after five of nine rounds in the premiere season and thus on course for a play-off position. On Matchday 3, FCB beat Schalke 04 1-0 in both the first and second leg.
All-in from the beginning
Alguacil had his first contact with the virtual world of football at an early stage. As a three-year-old, he got his hands on a controller for the first time. "But I didn't really play because my controller was not connected. It's just like a typical Internet meme, with the younger brother given a controller that's not connected," laughs the esports professional. But it didn't take long before he was allowed to really play himself. "When I was three or four years old, I played Pro Evolution Soccer 2 on Playstation 2 for the first time. That was the beginning of where I am today. It's the game that I grew up with. At first it was just for fun but in the last few years it's become much more than that."
Difficult decision
In 2013, Alguacil started to play eFootball PES, then called Pro Evolution Soccer, made by Japanese manufacturer Konami, in a performance-driven manner. "When my career started back then, you wouldn't think that one day it would be possible to become a professional gamer." In 2017, Alguacil began studying finance - but this wasn't to last long. "At that time I qualified for the World Cup in eFootball PES, but was eliminated after the group stage. That's when I realised: If I want to be the best, I have to change something. I saw that most of the players were playing around the clock. So I took the decision to take a break from my studies."
The go-ahead from his parents
His parents accepted the daring step, but he had to promise that he would resume his studies immediately if a career in esports did not work out. "It was a risk. But I wanted to know how far I could go." And Alguacil made it more than just 'far': one year later he was 3v3 world champion and 1v1 world runner-up. After a season with Barça, he switched to Bayern. "To be part of FC Bayern, one of the biggest clubs in the world, it's crazy." Alguacil, who played football in teams throughout his youth, is still enthusiastic today.
The will to succeed
<em>Tips from a Champions League winner: Brazilian legend <a href="giovane-elber">Giovane Élber</a> welcomed the esports team to Säbener Straße and chatted in detail with them about football.</em>
Alguacil is now aiming for further success with Bayern. In addition to virtual training, a healthy body is also important for this. "Sport not only helps me to stay physically fit, but also to reduce stress and stay mentally fit." For this purpose, he does a one-hour endurance or strength training session every day before his gaming sessions. "Two years ago I was 20 kilos heavier - today I feel much better. The three of us are all professional in these things. But some advice from FC Bayern also helps us get ahead." For example, the team also obtained nutritional tips from FCB to help during the coronavirus period. "We want to achieve something with Bayern, we're hungry for titles." He has already absorbed the well-known Bayern DNA well after his few months with the German record champions.
FC Bayern's esports players are not keeping idle during the coronavirus crisis and are staying fit and ready for the season's finale with online friendlies. Watch the highlights of the friendly against Manchester United here:
More information about the entire esports team can be found here and from now on in our regular esports series: