Real Madrid’s first of two signings this past summer – David Alaba, the second being Eduardo Camavinga – has been an absolute success. I could even go as far as saying that he has been the best signing for any club this season. There is no other player that has had this big of an impact in the position that they play in, and there is no one who has fit in this seamlessly in the first six months of the stint.
Alaba has been great, and has proved all his doubters wrong. Not many people thought he’d be able to hold his own at centre-back, but he has, and the Austrian has exceeded all expectations, truly.
It’s not only about what Alaba has done as a centre-back individually. Like, yes, he’s played really well, but that’s not all he does. He’s a great team player, and we can see how his qualities help other teammates in every single game, even if we don’t notice it.
Here are three of those players that Alaba has helped the most so far.
Ferland Mendy
Real Madrid were struggling a lot until Ferland Mendy returned from his long, injury-related absence in the game against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League. And from that point on, Real Madrid have been in incredible form. Keep in mind, Real Madrid haven’t lost since he returned to the squad.
Of course, like with any other player, Mendy certainly has his limitations. He is not the best going forward, and he doesn’t do as well as he should under pressure. Alaba has helped the Frenchman in both of these things. Whenever Mendy has the ball and is being pressed by the opponents, Alaba would make himself available as an outlet to pass to, and then would use his press resistance to get through any press targeted at him.
Sometimes, to hide his shortcomings as an attacking full-back, Mendy would stay back and let Alaba become a makeshift left-back, which helps both players, really, if you think about it. It’s great to have these two players play together in such tandem, and I’m all for it.
Eder Militao
Well, this was an obvious one. Alaba and Militao have formed one of the best centre-back partnerships in the world in such a short span of time. It’s unbelievable how they work so well together. They have such good chemistry, and, to be honest, there may be centre-backs that are individually better than them, but at the moment, I would not break this partnership for any centre-back in the world. The strengths of one player are heightened by the other, and the weaknesses of one are nullified by the other.
For example, Militao is a good ball-playing centre-back. He’s not the best with the ball, but he can get the job done. Alaba is fantastic with the ball, and he helps Real Madrid, as well as Militao, through the opposition press.
The Austrian is also an unbelievably good passer which helps Militao because although the Brazilian can very well hold his own in that regard, Alaba’s offensive instincts just give him the edge.
Alaba also helps Militao by not being as aggressive while defending. As we know, Militao takes well-timed gambles and someone needs to be there to cover for the open space that he leaves behind, and nine times out of 10, it is Alaba who does that.
In return, Militao helps him out by going for most of the aerial duels as Alaba is not the tallest centre-back you can find. These two work so well together, and I can’t wait to see their partnership improve even more as time goes by.
Toni Kroos
This is a very interesting one, and definitely something that not a lot of people are paying attention to. Kroos is one of the best passers of all time, pretty easily, and had the highest number of assists for any LaLiga player in 2021. But, this season, he’s been helped a lot by Alaba’s presence and press resistance.
Of course, these players know each other’s game and playing style from a while back because they played together for a few years at Bayern. It’s great to see how well they’re working together, and something that no one is realising is that these two are solving Real Madrid’s issues in building out from the back against teams that press high. I think we will see more of it if Real Madrid face a better pressing team.
Kroos and Alaba are excellent ball carriers, as they are very press resistant. We’ve seen them link up with each other to break through the press. Both of them know where the other one is going to be and it just works perfectly. Kroos knows that he can rely on Alaba’s passing range whenever he has to play it back to the defense, and he does that whenever required. Alaba, in turn, knows where Kroos is going to be whenever Real Madrid retrieve the ball from the opposition team, and he gets the ball to him in the hopes of starting a successful counter-attack.
These two players work on set-pieces together as well. I actually think that instead of Karim Benzema taking the direct free-kicks from near the box, it should be either David Alaba or Toni Kroos, depending on which side it is on.
Whenever Alaba becomes a makeshift left-back and pushes high up the field, Kroos is always there to find him on the overload, which leads to a few attacking opportunities for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid have found themselves a fantastic player in David Alaba, and I’m sure that he will continue to make more on-field partnerships with other players as well, but I can certainly say that these three are thrilled to have the Austrian as their teammate.