Faith and hip-hop

How a pastor introduces his friend David Alaba

Pastor Jan Kohler was also present at David Alaba's Champions League victory with Real Madrid in Paris in 2022. After the game, David even brought his friend onto the pitch at the Stade de France.

(Bild: Marco Michalzik)

In our EURO series, close friends introduce Austria's soccer stars from a very personal perspective. To kick things off, Jan Kohler - the pastor of the Hillsong Church in Munich has been a friend of David Alaba for many years - talks about the power of faith, visits to hip-hop concerts and David's gift for creating community during an interview in Munich's "Laimers" beer garden.

Faith helped David a lot after he tore his cruciate ligament in December. Kohler says: "Of course he was very disappointed and depressed. It was difficult for him to accept how long it would be before he could return to the pitch. But David never asked why and never doubted God. I visited him in Innsbruck shortly before the operation. We prayed together for the biggest challenge of his life so far. But the whole time he had faith that something good would come of it, that even better times would come than before."