FCBARCELONA.CAT

03.07.2008 13:34

Alves delighted with Barça philosophy

Jaume Marcet

Dani Alves wants to win at FC Barcelona and to make his style of play fit in with his new team’s. He is ambitious and expects to win the League and Champions League with Barça.

Speaking to www.fcbarcelona.cat and Barça TV, Dani Alves has looked back on his journey from Brazil to FC Barcelona, a club he feels able to identify with.

You are now a Barça player. What are your early impressions?

"It is very important to come to a club like this. It is a dream come true and a very special day for me."

When you were young did you have any objectives, like playing in a big club for example? Or are these dreams that grow slowly?

"Slowly. In Brazil, it is very hard to hope for something like this. A boy’s dream in Brazil, when he starts playing football, is to turn professional one day, and then to play for the national team. Then you want a European club to notice you and to make your life there. I was young when I arrived at Sevilla, 18 years, and I had experienced a lot of things, I grew as a footballer, as a person and now I have the chance to play in a big club like Barça."

What are Daniel Alves’ origins? When did he start playing football?

"I come from a humble family, that had to work hard to get by. My father got me into football, he played to but was never able to enjoy being a professional. His dream was to have a football playing son. My brother couldn’t, but I had the fortune to enjoy that dream."

You are 25 years old, but those are 25 very different years to other boys in your country. Did coming to Europe when you were 18 make you mature more quickly?

"In Brazil, lads have to make decisions quickly. I had to leave my parents because I had been given the chance to play for the youth side at an important club. I didn’t want to leave home so early, but I am glad I made that decision. And now God has given me the chance to come to a city where Brazilians are well received. Many Brazilians dream of playing at Barça or an important European club. I feel privileged."

How have you improved in your years at Sevilla?

"You get more mature and learn things. When you are young these things don’t even enter your head, you just want to play, it’s not important, but when you start looking back you realise just how much you have learned. Attacking is not enough, I think I have matured over time. Now I have found that balance in the way I play."

At Sevilla they say you are the best player in the recent history of the club. It can’t be easy to leave a place where they love you so much and have given you so much recognition...

"Well, you can’t regret the decision you make. It won’t change the appreciation I have of Sevilla, a club that has determined both my professional and personal life. On a football level you have different objectives, other thoughts, and mine was to come to a club like Barça. Now I have that chance."

What convinced you about Barça?

"The way they play. I have enjoyed the games I have seen. And their style of play also seduced me, and their aim to win titles, because I am also ambitious like that. The new club project and the faith they have shown in me helped me make my decision."

I suppose you know lots of Brazilians have been successful here…

"I hope the history continues."

Do you feel more of a right back because you can influence the game from there?

"I don’t think playing as right back is contradictory to playing football. I also like offensive football, it is the best thing about the game. I find the position comfortable, very normal. Also, when I started playing I always wanted to feel I was somebody that could bring something different and better to the game. And it is through thinking like that that I am where I am today, and I won’t change the way I think. Although I can adapt to any circumstances."

Does your football adapt to Barça’s characteristics?

"It is a team that plays with a lot of possession, they play the ball around, not chasing it, and I am delighted with that philosophy and being able to take part."

You spoke with Guardiola. What’s he like?

"He is a person that has been in my position and that of my colleagues. That is something I always comment on, when a coach has been a player before he knows what footballers like, and what they need. He is an important gamble and I hope it works out because me and him are keen to get going."

With Sevilla you won a lot of titles. What do you hope to win with Barça?

"I want to win the League and Champions League. They are the titles I am missing and the titles the club seeks to win. I think it will work, and I hope we can achieve those objectives as soon as possible."

What will you say to the fans?

"What I can say is that I am a very hard working player. They say I change when I’m on the pitch. Off it, I’m laid back, but on it, I like to fight as hard as I have to. I am very excited about this new stage of my life and I am the first to want to win titles and to do that I want to try to contribute all I can."