Dani Alves’ eight year stay at Barcelona was recently confirmed by the club, with Serie A juggernauts Juventus his next port of call.
No doubt the Catalan’s will be reeling at the loss. Whilst the right sided wizard is now considered a veteran at the age of 33, their aren’t too many that can claim to be better in his position.
Two years ago however it was all looking very different for Alves. Poor form had meant the Brazilians place in the side was no longer assured, not only that the implementation of new boss Luis Enrique had meant the squad had serious doubts over their identity. The club didn’t even seem too concerned that the Brazilian was nearing the end of his contract with both Manchester United and PSG hovering. The Catalan’s decision to offer their star wing back a new deal however was justified by Alves giving the form of his life – a renaissance that led to an Enrique led treble.
“If I had to choose [which medals mean most], I’d say last year’s because there were so many doubts: if I was finished, if Barcelona should get rid of me, if I shouldn’t be there …” Alves once admitted on his comeback. “I wouldn’t say it got to me but it annoyed me because I love my profession, I live for football, for my team, my team-mates. If I only thought about myself, I’d be no use. I don’t want to talk about me, me, me … and find we haven’t won anything. That’s a disaster.”
Whilst world football is seemingly universal in its admiration for Alves’ qualities, he hasn’t been without his detractors. The Brazilian’s loud sometimes abrasive chaotic character has been seen my some to be breaking rank. Funnily enough this is reflected in his kinetic free flowing style of ‘defending’. Of course even he uses that term loosely.
“What is ‘defend’?,” he once questioned during a Guardian interview. “That no one ever dribbles or attacks? Bloody hell, football would be boring, wouldn’t it? You can prepare [only] to defend but then the guy dribbles past you anyway … what, you think you’re the only one that’s quick? If you ‘defend’, you don’t attack; if you ‘attack’, you don’t defend? What’s football for? To win. And to win you have to score more. The winner isn’t [just] the team that defends incredibly; if you defend well but don’t score, it’s worthless.”
It’s this disregard for black and white views on the way the game should be played that led to Guardiola’s Barcelona forking out €32m for his services. A fee that proved a little too high in the eyes of Roman Abramovich who baulked at the thought of paying such a fee for a right back.
Barcelona’s right wing has delivered three times as many goals as the left during Pep’s heyday, with the full-back providing 10 assists. Whilst his technical ability wouldn’t rank on the scale of his ludicrously talented team-mates, his penchant for killer passes, sound tactical nous and crunching tackles, not to mentions an inability to EVER stop running has made him a truly magnificent attacking weapon.
The Brazilian tenure a the Catalan club resulted in an dizzyingly impressive haul of 6 La Liga titles, 4 Copa Del Rey’s, 3 Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Super Cup’s and 3 FIFA Club World Cup’s. A total amount of trophies even the man himself struggles to keep up with.
So the question begs, how does he rank among the greatest ever in his position. The candidates are impressive.
Maicon, a former Treble winner with Jose Mourinho’s Inter, had all the attributes as a true great also. However his talent seem to eviscerate ever since a young Gareth Bale took him to the cleaners on one fateful night at the San Siro. Previous to that his 2009-10 season represented his most fruitfull, as the players speed and gorilla like strength made the right side of the pitch one to avoid for any wise opposition.
Lillian Thuram was also widely regarded as one of the greats of his generation, making a massive 142 appearance for France. Javier Zanetti career length reached mammoth proportions and was a consistent performer in defensive situations. Phillip Lahm was/is supremely intelligent and incisive back in the day when seen as ‘just’ a right back.
Perhaps the biggest rival to his crown would be fellow Brazilian Cafu. Even at the age of 35 the player ran the right with relentless energy and elegance, coupled with supreme technical ability, he also claimed two World Cups.
But do any of them hold a candle to Dani Alves during attacking transitions?
Of course the Barcelona superstar functioned in very different systems to his contemporaries, used as more of a wing back with a possession based emphasise in mind. Alves is the right-back in a four-man defence, Somewhat different to Cafu who had the cover of three centre half’s in many of the teams he played for.
Even with just the two centre-backs to his left, Alves plays ludicrously high up the pitch in some matches. Sometimes ahead of Barcelona’s midfield even when no longer in possession. Of course the side was set up to very much accommodate Alves’ forward roaming tenancies.
It’s this unpredictable wing back play, not to mention his enviable acceleration and stamina, that make him almost impossible to nullify out of the game. It often became common to see sides playing left-backs on the left of midfield to try and stop him his deep bursting runs.
While Lionel Messi of course takes Barcelona to whole new levels with his untitled genius, the likes of Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta also contribute heavily to the clubs impressive footballing style, Dani Alves’ stretching of the field free’d up so much space for his compadres. A team that are absurdly brilliant at taking teams apart through the middle, owe a hell of a lot to the man taking teams apart down the wing.