Dani Alves - simply the best

One of the best midfielders in football today, Xavi Hernandez recently said that Dani Alves was priceless for Barcelona but that has become evident as soon as the Brazilian joined the Camp Nou outfit from Seville. He has been an integral part of the team that won the historic treble and is currently recognized as one of the best right-backs in world football. He is the very best if you ask me.

Dani Alves made a name for himself at Sevilla, where he enjoyed six fruitful years having won two UEFA Cups and Copa del Rey with the club. Despite playing in defence he was almost every season the team leader in assists due to his marauding forward runs that often ended with perfect crosses for his teammates. The Brazilian also scored 16 goals during his time at Sevilla and it was his attacking qualities that attracted the host of big European clubs. The Andalucian side rejected several offers from Chelsea before receiving an offer too good to refuse from the Catalan giants and it was at the start of last season that Alves made a switch to Barcelona, leaving Sevilla in tears.

It is probably no wonder that his arrival coincided with Barcelona’s most successful season in club’s history and Alves was definitely one of the key players despite playing his first season for one of the biggest clubs in the world. He offered the team a much needed width and additional creativity from defence, while he continued to feed the forwards with the best crosses you will ever see. Alves is a real menace for the opposing defenders and his eye for the right pass is something you would never expect to see from a full-back, never mind that he is Brazilian.

His nationality is probably the reason why he has played just 32 games for the national team but this is definitely a player who is good enough to command a starting place in any team in the world, regardless of the fact that he has a strong competition for the starting berth in Brazil national team. Maicon is a very good player but there is no way he is better than Alves and I just hope Carlos Dunga will realize that before the World Cup in South Africa starts or he will do one man a lot of harm.

You don’t need a lot of time to realize what a marvelous player Dani Alves is but I know I will always remember his eye-catching assist to Leo Messi in the last El Classico that was sadly not turned into a goal by the Argentine, who was probably surprised himself just how that ball reached him in the first place. This player is a big asset for Barcelona and we can all just hope he stays at Camp Nou for as along as possible.