Alaba celebrates comeback – bitter draw against Serbia in the Nations League fight

Alaba celebrates comeback – bitter draw against Serbia in the Nations League fight

David Alaba is back on the pitch! After a 486-day break, the captain of the Austrian national team made his comeback in the Nations League play-off against Serbia on Thursday. With an impressive performance, he showed that his competitive spirit is unbroken. The 32-year-old, who was recently out of action due to a severe cruciate ligament tear, was in the starting line-up and played his 106th international match for red-white-red. How krone.at reports, Alaba was full of anticipation before the game: “I feel really good and am happy to finally be able to help the team on the pitch again.”

But the comeback brought bittersweet feelings. The game against Serbia only ended in a 1-1 draw for Alaba and the Austrian team, although they appeared to be the superior team for over 90 minutes. In an interview with ORF, Alaba summed up: “I think we were clearly the better team for 90 minutes.” Gregoritsch's opening goal, for which he prepared with a dream pass, could not make up for the Serbs' later equalizer, which Alaba found “very bitter”. “The Serbs up front have quality, but we were still the better team,” he added today.at.

Despite the return and a strong personal appearance, the disappointment over missing out on victory remains palpable. However, Alaba, who supported the team as a “non-playing captain” during his absence, is optimistic for the second leg. "I am convinced that we can make everything clear in the second leg. We know about our quality," he emphasized resolutely.