FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.06.2010 18:05

Alves starts and Brazil top the group

Marc Guillén

Dani Alves is the third Barça player into the round of sixteen after playing all ninety minutes of his country’s scoreless game with Portugal.

With Elano out through injury, Dani Alves was handed his chance and didn’t disappoint with an excellent personal performance.

Alves goes for goal

He made an immediate impact on the game by taking the first two of Brazil’s shots, both from outside the area. The first was especially dangerous but just went wide, while the second found the target but lacked power.

Attack down the right

Most of the Brazil danger was created down the right hand side via Alves and Inter Milan’s Maicon, especially in the first half, which the South Americans dominated. Qualification already assured, they played at ease, while there a little more tension in the Portugal side, for whom qualification was virtually assured but was no mathematical certainty.

Moving up the park

Alves is a right back at Barça, but Dunga commonly moves him up into midfield, where at many times he was practically teaming up with midfielders Felipe Melo and Gilberto Silva. That enabled him and Maicon to create some dangerous overlapping moves down their wing.

Slower second half

The first half may have produced some intense football, but the second 45 minutes saw both sides take a more conservative approach that was occasionally dull for the neutral. The draw ultimately served the interests of both sides, and meant Brazil top the group and Portugal come through in second.

Alves in all three games

The FC Barcelona has featured in every Brazil game to date, though as right midfielder rather than in defence. Against North Korea he came on in the 72nd minute for Elano. Against the Ivory Coast, Alves again replaced Elano, who was injured in the 66th minute. Finally, today he played from start to finish.