Part 2: Player Profile – Dani Alves
The match was simply phenomenal as the team managed to end the season with a 6 trophy win haul and it was Dani Alves who proved to be simply outstanding for the Spanish club time and time again. The 27 year old also managed to thrill the fans with a clever back heel pass to set up Messi’s goals during the Champions League match against Stuttgart as Barcelona were the ones who ended victorious during that match and the match ended 4-0 for the Catalan giants.
Dani Alves, in recent times, has proved himself so many times that the former Brazilian captain, Cafu, the defender who is still regarded as a legend in the eyes of the Brazilian crowd, said:
“Without a doubt, he [Dani Alves] is my natural heir in the Selecao because we have very similar playing styles!"
Even though it was Alves who managed to get the applauds of the Brazilian fans and the Barcelona fans in the Nou Camp, it was still him who struggled to get a right back spot in Dunga’s starting line up of the Brazilian team. In the FIFA World Cup 2010, Maicon was the first choice right back for Dunga while Dani Alves was to sit on the bench. Even if he was to come on to the field, he used to feature as a right midfielder and not as a right back.
However, Dani Alves showed versatility and he was totally comfortable as a right midfielder throughout the FIFA World Cup 2010. When Elano was injured, it was Dani Alves who replaced him as a right midfielder for the last three matches that the Brazilian team played. Despite the fact that he featured as a first team player for the Brazilian national team, he still didn’t manage to impress many as he felt out of place.
Now as Dunga has left his position as the coach of the Brazilian team, Dani Alves can totally hope to be a first team Brazilian defender and he can just hope that he can find the form that he has in Barcelona, while wearing the Canrihna colours.
Dani Alves started his career from a Brazilian club Bahia and he started as a right back in that team and he is still playing at the same position. He was an outstanding performer for the Brazilian club and the talent was seen by the Spanish side, Sevilla. He joined Sevilla in 2002 as a youngster and started featuring for their first team in 2005. During his run in the 2006-2007 season, he managed to feature for the Spanish club for 47 times in the same season and also managed to score 5 goals even though he was a side back for the club.
His talent was then seen by the Catalan giants, Barcelona and efforts were made to bring him to the Nou Camp. Finally a deal was struck by the Catalan giants and they paid 32 million Euros to bring the Brazilian right back to their club. With the help of Dani Alves, Barcelona managed to win a treble in the same season he was bought and the right back managed to make a permanent first team position in the club.
Currently Dani Alves has been offered 33 million pounds by the biggest spending English club Manchester City and Alves is struggling in Barcelona because of the “pay cuts” that they have recently introduced. However, he has not spoken about it in public but Barcelona’s sporting director has made it clear that they are trying to sign a new deal with the dynamic right back and want him to stay at the club.
Right now Barcelona do not have a suitable replacement for Dani Alves and he is definitely going to feature for them throughout the season as the transfer window is now shut. Currently he is showing great form as he has featured for all the pre season matches and also the first match of the Spanish La Liga.
All in all Dani Alves is definitely one of the best right backs in the world and he is definitely going to keep performing like he always does as he is trying to live up to his “label” of being a consistent performer.
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