Hello Soccermanagerite! In today’s episode, we take a look at one of the most versatile and intelligent players within the modern game: Austrian Captain and Real Madrid stalwart at the back, David Alaba.
PLAYER BIO
Standing at only 5’9″, David is pretty small for the modern D(C), but what ever he lacks in height, he makes it up with his incredible footballing brain. Even though he is on the verge of turning 31, David is still in his prime, and you can expect to get some stellar performances out of that Austrian left foot
BEST ATTRIBUTES WITHIN SM23
Here are the all too important attributes of Albs within SM23 that we will be using to get a better understanding of how we should be playing him. This player is a jack of all trades and has the capability of doing almost every attribute required as a baller, as well as doing them at a very high level. As you can see, I have some “issues” with some of his attributes that I believe are ridiculously low (if you’ve seen him play in a live match you’ll be as flabbergasted as I am right now)
BEST ROLES
As I mentioned above, David is a jack of all trades. So, he has the understanding to play various different roles and he will never be out of place (well, if you have the right players next to him of course…). In this image, it showcases that Alaba can play as a ‘Ball Playing Defender’, as well as a ‘General Defender’ based on what you decide to do Albs also has the ability of playing as a Traditional ‘Fullback’, a ‘Wide Midfielder’ when he is asked to play out-wide within a back 3 formation, as well as of course being comfortable operating as a ‘Ball playing Defender’ within a 3 at the back system (also did not mention his ability to play as a ‘General Defender’ when paying in a back 3 as well as the ability to play as a ‘General Midfieder’ in the centre of the park. The bloke is too brilliant! 😎
HOW TO BEST USE HIM
With all of his versatility, we still have to mention his best role that will ensure that you get the absolute best out of him. And that would be playing him as your LCB within a back 4, and giving him the role of your ‘Ball Playing Defender’
WHO ARE THE BEST TEAMATES?
David Alaba has a few similarities to VVD when it comes to their importance whenever they are being asked to get involved with build up play. But he has some flaws pertaining his physical make up, and if you want to play him at D(C), then you’ll need to have some players next to him that cover for his deficiencies:
Whenever you choose to play Albs in his preferred position, it is of absolute importance that you get teammates around him who allow him to play his best type of football. For this to occur, we will need a physical type ‘Stopper’ as his CentreBack partner who will be the aggressor of the pair, a ‘Wingback’ who will bomb forward in order for Albs to pick up that space around the “left half space” more effectively, while a ‘Ball Winning Midfielder’ who is great at protecting and covering for any attacking movement of his teammates will be crucial to allow Albs to have that added protection whenever he decides to get into advanced positions when your team has long spells of possessionWhen choosing to play David as your ‘General Defender’, it means that you are asking him to do a bit of everything. Therefore, he will still require a ‘Stopper’ and ‘Wingback’ next to him, but the real difference will be the need for a player who will control the entire game with his range of passing which is why a ‘Deep-lying Playmaker’ will be an important player to have. This does not mean that Albs won’t look to get involved with possession, it just means that he is less likely to do it as much as if you decide to play him as a BPD Despite what you see within SM23, Alaba is no longer looking to be a ‘Wingback’ that bombs forward for 90 minutes. So, he instead operates like a traditional ‘Fullback’ (even sometimes playing as an Inverted Fullback based on your tactical set up), but he has the range of passing to be a very dangerous player from this position. What you will need to have in front of him is a ‘Winger’ who will maintain the width on the left hand side and only cut inwards once your team has long spells of possession within the opposition’s attacking third. Meanwhile, a ‘Ball playing Defender’ will be a good teammate next to him since Alaba’s position will potentially free up some room for the BPD to get into positions to display his range of passing and technical prowessLastly, if you decide to play a ‘back 3’ formation, I believe you should play Albs as a BPD as his wider CentreBack position will allow him a bit more time, as well as granting him access to get higher up the pitch. The central of the 3 should always be a BPD (Unless you want to play a very defensive style of play), while you will need to have a BWM that performs the role of cover boy as he allows the Ball playing Defenders to get more involved in the match.
Having a player like David Alaba within your team is something that I personally believe we all should cherish since his incredible football brain and versatility allow us to solve a lot of issues that have the potential to show up during the long marathon of a season.
Up next, we have yet another player who may be considered “too small” for the common CB, but you’d never know that since he is an outstanding defender and the best when it comes to playing out from the back (even better than Alaba, surprisingly). Yes soccermanagerites, we’re talking about the Brazilian might, Marquinhos! 🇧🇷
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