FCBARCELONA.CAT

13.03.2009 14:26

Alves: “I’m ready for the rest of the season”

Anna Segura

Dani Alves is in fine shape for the run-in to the end of the season and is always a cheery presence in the dressing room. “When you’re feeling happy you just have to try and make your teammates feel the same way,” he says.

He’s one of the happiest players at Barça and his Brazilian love for the samba makes him into the team’s DJ. Given the team’s position at this stage of the season, he believes that “when you’re feeling happy you just have to try and make your teammates feel the same way”.

When asked if Coldplay’s song ‘Viva la Vida' motivated him, the Brazilian was very honest and said “it doesn’t motivate me because I don’t understand it”.

Achieving goals

When he arrived at Barça last summer, Dani Alves knew he was coming to the club to achieve great things and he has no complaints so far: “It was what I’d set as my goal, trying to win everything”. He knows that the important part of the season is now starting, and says he is “ready to take on what’s coming in the rest of the campaign”.

Focussed on Almeria

The team is now fully focussed on their League clash with Almeria, and Alves believes that after their Champions League triumph on Wednesday the players are very motivated and determined to get back to winning away from home. However, he also warned that Almeria would be looking for revenge for the thrashing handed out in the first game between the two sides this term.

No thoughts for Madrid

He says the club is thinking more about its own game than about the clash between Athletic Bilbao and Madrid: “We have to focus on our match knowing that they’re going to a tough ground”. Alves also believes that it is Madrid who should be looking at Barça as “we’re in the lead”.

Back to winning ways

Asked about whether the recent run of poor form was over, Alves said that “we haven’t been ourselves and the team felt it. Now we’re back to being the Barça everyone wants and we have to get back to the winning form that we had before”.

He also pointed out that “it was tough keeping up that tempo but I’m sure we’ll be able to get back to winning ways in the League”.

Few things to improve

Alves thinks there’s not much to improve about the team: “It’s tough because the team is just about perfect”. However, he is also aware that Barça needs to retain its “traditional humility”.

In addition Dani Alves pointed out that naturally enough the players prefer praise to criticism but the former should be no excuse for dropping your guard.