The
Athlete.
Captain.
Leader.
Winner.
Athlete.
David Alaba is a world-class footballer and serial winner who has claimed over thirty trophies, including eleven league titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues.
A ten-time Austrian Footballer of the Year, he has represented his country over a hundred times at all levels and has captained them at major International tournaments. But he has bigger and bolder ambitions, which reach far beyond football.
The
Athlete.
Captain.
Leader.
Winner.
Athlete.
■ Childhood
Born in Vienna to a Nigerian father and a Filipino mother, he was a citizen of the world from the day he was born, and now speaks four languages: English, German, Tagalog and Spanish.
He was raised in a household which had abundant love for music and fashion - his father was a DJ and recording artist, and his parents often dressed him up with influences from the world of African-American music - and these shaped the paths that he and his sister would later pursue.
Last, and certainly not least, he has been guided along his way by his faith. A regular churchgoer and reader of the Bible, he says, "without God, I wouldn't be where I am today".
■ Family
It is clear that those closest to him are key to all he has. "Everything I do in my life always involves my family, especially my parents", he says.
There is one particular fact that reveals how close he is to his parents: that, despite Alaba having played well over four hundred games of professional football, "they still haven't missed a home game, to this day. Not one home game, even in Madrid."
Whenever Alaba launches a charitable project anywhere in the world - for example, his funding of a sanitary facility in Ogun State, Nigeria, the birthplace of his father - he does so only after consultation with his family.
He is also very supportive of his sister Rose May, a singer-songwriter who has topped charts in Austria and Nigeria, and with whom he has launched a restaurant in Vienna.
■ Fashion
Alaba's love for football is followed closely by his love for fashion. He can reel off the names of his favourite brands as easily as most athletes might recall their favourite sporting moments.
He is a regular at Paris Fashion week attending shows, catching up with friends, meeting new designers, exploring new collections. Keeping an eye on both established and upcoming names in the world of fashion is of paramount importance.
■ Design
A keen traveller, Alaba picks up ideas for new designs wherever he goes. “There’s so many cities which inspire me”
He is a regular at Paris Fashion week attending shows, catching up with friends, meeting new designers, exploring new collections. Keeping an eye on both established and upcoming names in the world of fashion is of paramount importance.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, his creativity also extends to the world of architecture. "Interior design is one of the things that I really love to do", says Alaba, "so I really take a lot of time over it. I guess I also really have an eye for where to place art, and which fabrics to choose."
Right now, he is overseeing the interior design of a new house that he is building, and he has approached the task with his customary high energy, regularly briefing his team of professionals.
■ Footballer, designer, philanthropist
It is far easier to name the things Alaba does well, than the ones he doesn't.
Hailing as he does from a family of gifte musicians, it seems fair to ask if Alaba has any musical talents of his own. "I think I have a good voice, but my family always remind me that I don't", he laughs.
He shouldn't mind too much: through his hard work on and off the football field, life has already brought him plenty of blessings, and looks set to bring him plenty more.
■ Achievements
of the year
of the year
