FCBARCELONA.CAT

27.11.2008 11:20

Dani Alves: “I don’t want to wake up”

Berta Brau

A few days before the Sevilla v FC Barcelona game, Dani Alves is looking forward to returning to his old club. Speaking to Barça TV and www.fcbarcelona.cat he looked back on the first four months of the dream he is living at Barça.

At the end of last season, the Brazilian made a career-changing decision to leave Sevilla and don the Barça shirt. He doesn’t regret that move, saying “I am very happy and every day I feel more convinced that I made the right decision because I am sharing a dressing room with some of the best players in Europe and the world. It is an honour to be experiencing this and I hope it lasts for as long as possible.”

Painful departure

Sometimes a picture paints a thousand words, and the image of Dani Alves leaving Sevilla was a touching one. With tears in his eyes, he bade farewell to his six-year adventure with the Andalusian outfit, and said “I want to say thank you for everything this club gave to me, I am sure it will always have a place in my heart.”

“It has all happened so fast”

But despite the tears on his final day, Dani Alves had a smile on his face when he touched down in Barcelona. The doors had opened on a new future for the Brazilian full back. It was a new home for him, and a new club. “It has all happened so fast, even our adaptation, because it can be hard to adapt to a new city.” Alves says that one of the most important things was for him and his family to feel comfortable in their new surroundings. He got his wish, and “if the family are well, everything else comes with it”

“I don’t want to wake up”

In his first interview, Dani Alves said that it had been a dream come true to sign for Barça, and four months down the line he still feels the same way. “The truth is that if anybody wakes me up, I’ll get angry, because it’s very special and passionate to experience what I am experiencing here in Barcelona. If what I am having is a dream, then I hope nobody wakes me up.” Not only is he thoroughly enjoying himself, but he is also lucky enough to be one of the players that most features in Guardiola’s first team plans: “It is a privilege to always get to play and contribute, that’s very positive for me, especially because the more I play, the better I feel.”

Discovering Barça

After three months of hard work, Alves is getting what he wanted and when asked what he thinks about the team he represents, he could only find good words to say: “Work is the basis for everything we have been seeing and achieving until now. I think that when a job is done well and everybody shows interest, things sort themselves out.” He also highlighted ‘humility’ and ‘companionship’ as important factors, as well as “lively football and the commitment of all of the members of the squad”.

First Barça goal

In the eighth league game, Alves took one further step in his Barça career, when he enjoyed “a difficult sensation to put into words” by scoring his first goal. “It was very special because it was the first I’ve scored. I didn’t know what to do at the time but it was something lovely that I will remember all my life.”

Return to Sevilla

When he signed for Barça he knew that the day would come when he would have to revisit his former club, but this time wearing a different shirt. It is going to be an emotional day for the Brazilian, who said “it is very special, especially because of what I’ve been though and what I learned there”, although he knows it will be difficult because “I lived there for almost all of my professional career, and having to face my old colleagues is something different.”

Professionalism versus sentiments

But he has to stay professional about it. “You have to work in isolation from your emotions” he said, adding that “I hope I have a good game and that we get the three points.” He knows the opposition well, and is aware of their dangers, and especially Sevilla’s “play down the wings” and “the two forwards Luis Fabiano and Kanouté, two players that can shoot on goal at any moment.” To beat the Andalusians, Alves reckons Barça should stick to what they know. “We have our characteristics and our way of playing and I don’t think we should change anything … just as we are worried about how strong Sevilla are, I am sure that they will be worried about how strong Barcelona are”.