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How corruption jeopardized my chances of playing for Nigeria – David Alaba

Published

7 years ago

May 4, 2019

Bayern Munich star David Alaba has sensationally revealed that he was asked to pay a bribe by the Golden Eaglets coaches before making the roster for the 2007 FIFA U17 World Cup.

Born in Vienna to a Filipino mother and Nigerian father, Alaba had been eligible to represent the Super Eagles before he became cap-tied to his country of birth, Austria.

The versatile defender has claimed that he trained with the Nigeria U17s which contained the likes of Lukman Haruna, Macauley Chrisantus and Rabiu Ibrahim ahead of the tournament in South Korea and impressed during the training camp.

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The Golden Eaglets coaches wanted to collect money from Alaba but his mother insisted that there was no way she going to part with a single penny.

Speaking recently, the 26-year-old has labelled the Nigeria U17 coaches ‘jokers’ and has vowed not to respond to their greetings if he is approached by the coaches.

A six-time Austrian Footballer of the Year, Alaba has earned 68 caps for Austria, scoring 13 goals and represented the country at the 2016 European Championship.