David Alaba will be on the Austria bench for Euro 2024 after accepting a role to join Ralf Rangnick’s technical staff.
The Real Madrid defender has been out of action since December with an ACL injury, ruling him out of his side’s treble-winning campaign and sadly also Euro 2024 with Austria.
However, unlike most players who may let the lay-off get them down, Alaba has been ever-present, joining Madrid for their Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich, and being part of the celebrations for the final victory over Borussia Dortmund.
So positive and happy to be involved was Alaba, that it was confirmed he would travel to Euro 2024 as a ‘non-playing captain’. Now, though, Rangnick has invited the 31-year-old to join his technical staff.
AS report that Rangnick offered the role to Alaba who accepted after some thought. He will now be present on the Austria bench alongside the German coaching legend.
Players often take on coaching roles while still playing before heading into retirement, but this is unique as Alaba will go back to being a full-time player with Real Madrid once he’s fully fit.
Assisting in that pursuit will be members of Los Blancos physio staff, who will accompany Alaba to Germany and work with him around matches in order to get him fit for the start of the 2024/25 season.
Leave a Reply