FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.07.2008 20:02

Alves' Diary (IV)

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Dani Alves keeps you up-to-date with his thoughts on Barcelona's pre-season preparations and today explains his feelings on his first ever game for the club.

"Hello everyone,

"On Thursday I was finally able to make my debut with FC Barcelona. I was named in the starting line-up and despite not having many days in pre-season training, I felt I did well for the first 45 minutes. The truth is that I felt comfortable from the start.

I have to say that it was a pleasure to play on the right side along with Lionel Messi because is a great player. We had an understanding from the first minute and as I like to go forward and help out up front a lot, we combined quite often, even in the opposition area.

Apart from the play, I think that the team entertained and the fact that we were able to score early on, through Gudjohnsen, also helped us. The 6-0 scoreline says it all and despite there still being things to improve upon, we already showed that we have been working well up until now.

Now we are in the last phase of our stay in St Andrews and this morning we did some recovery work following the game, although the ones that did not play as much spent longer out on the pitch. Now we are also thinking about second pre-season game against Dundee United.

I am sure they will make us work harder and my team-mates have been telling me they were a good side when they met last summer. They have also told me that Tannadice is smaller than Murrayfield and that there will be more pressure on us. These conditions will help us to prepare for the Champions League qualifier. Now we have for a good result this weekend like the one we managed against Hibernian.

Next time I will let you know how the second game has gone.

Hasta Mañana!"