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.