It’s official: Dani Alves is in the house
By: Kevin | July 2nd, 2008
Yessss! Cue my Darth Vader voice as I am saying, “The plans are almost complete.” Daniel Alves da Silva is official, and this shot is for the ladies in the house. I believe Alves is saying “I know that Yaya’s bicep is bigger. It’s supposed to be.”
He’s 24 years young, and almost 5-foot-8 inches tall. And he’s our most exciting signing of the summer transfer season. He’s also the most expensive defensive transfer ever. Is he worth it? Time will tell.
Interested fans will recall that some of us were saying that Mr. Henry was the most exciting transfer of last summer, and one Toure Yaya turned out to be in fact the most exciting signing of the summer, in the 20/20 goodness that is hindsight.
Be that as it may, I repeat:
This is the most exciting signing of the summer season. Davi Alves is considered by most to be the best right back in the world. He is a terrier on the pitch, who seems to take losing possession of the ball personally, as does our very own Leo Messi. The road was long, which began with our offer of a lot of money, and Sevilla’s own Skeletor saying “For 25 million, I will send them Alves’ boots, so that a junior player can wear them.”
And so it went. We don’t have exact numbers, but figure he’s a 30 million Euro man, by the time the incentives, etc are finished.
A quote from the very geeked Mr. Alves: “I am hungry to start playing and the sooner the better so I can show they did not make a mistake with me.”
I like to hear that. It’s hunger, the same kind of hunger that makes him the fittest player on the Brazilian national side, the same kind of hunger that made him a thorn in the side of every Liga team for season after season.
I’m not big on stats, so I won’t bother with them, because he’s starting from ground zero with us. But the question is demanded: Why did we sign him?
Well, we had a pretty good right back, Gianluca Zambrotta. But he wanted to go home and frankly, he would have been sent home anyhow after this signing. Alves is faster, better with the ball, a better shooter and an exceptional crosser of the ball. He’s also one of the world’s best free kick takers, not quite up there with the soon-to-be-gone Gordinho. It is a significant upgrade for the position, and more importantly makes us verge on unplayable.
Last season, Zambrotta was an excellent defender, but not really a threat. This season, Alves can stop an attacker, steal the ball, lead the break, lace in a cross or take the shot himself. The other big part of his game is free kicks, which means the “when in doubt, foul Messi” program is officially at an end. Who’s more dangerous, Messi in the box or Alves over a dead ball, just outside the box?
“I am happy to be living this dream,” says Alves.
So let’s all join in a rousing Blaugrana welcome for Dani Alves.
P.S. Yes, the plan is almost complete, because there’s still that striker complexity.
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Oh and frankly, when I look at the present striker market, except for the fiscal complexities, I’d be all for keeping Eto’o. I think that he and Henry can tandem well together, if the coach makes it happen. You can’t just roll them out there and expect them to play together perfectly.
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United States
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And this just in: Messi’s father is talking stuff about him wanting to play in Serie A, if you believe what you read.
Some quotes:
“For the moment we are thinking of Barcelona, which is like a second home for Leo, and he wants to redeem himself after last season where he was plagued by injuries,” said Mr. Messi.
“But it’s also true that playing in Serie A is a dream for many players, including my son.
“And since no one knows what the future might hold, let’s say it’s possible that this desire may be realised sooner or later.”
Asked about a possible approach by Inter, whose president Massimo Moratti is known to be a huge admirer of the player, Messi’s father said: “Let’s say there hasn’t been any serious contact. But, I repeat, things might change in the future.”
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Alves will be amazing, if for his workrate alone. He has amazing stamina and strength for a little guy. His ball control is very good. His short passing is not the best but his recovery always makes up for it. His crossing is about as good as there has been - on par with Mr. Beckham. And he scores goals.
I’ll make up for Isaiah’s absence with some funny stats;
1 goal every 9 games over the past 3 seasons, an average of 5 a season.
Even more impressive is that he has got in double figures with assists in each of his last three seasons also. Right Back??? Well we’ll say right wing-back.
He lost the ball more than anyone else in La Liga last season
He also won possession back more than any other player in the league.On the other matters, Ronnie spent three great years with us. Two seasons ago he was well below average. Many were thinking he should have been sold last summer but he was given another chance. Remember, he took the Coppa America off to recover his fitness in order to be back to his best for the start of last season. Well seemingly he took last season off to put on weight for the long cold winter ahead.
If there was any possibility that we could have the old Ronnie back everyone who take it, and I’m sure Ronnie would be happier too. It is not going to happen though, as much as we want it to. We can find him a new home before we lose him for next to nothing next summer. Thats our only option.
Forget about the transfer fee, we also pay rather sizeable wages to the man too. Aswell as losing around €15million more of a transfer fee, we would also spend another €8million in wages for a player who won’t play if you believe the wages in the newspapers.
I have one feeling about transferring him to Man City though… we should include a first option on Jo should he fulfill the potential he has showed in Russia. With Elano and Ronaldinho feeding him balls he could progress unbelievably.Eto’o is an entirely different thing altogther. He is still the best striker on the planet. Forget Adebayor, forget Torres, forget Ibrahimovic, Eto’o will regularly score more goals than any of those.
The question of Ronnie is of his ability, Eto’o ability has nothing to do with it. And his main problem in his personality is more to do with hunger to win rather than his ego. When others around him don’t play to his standard he lets them know. A fit, firing Eto’o will get into every team in the world, and that should include ours.
If we HAVE to sell him, we should not let me go for a little fee and spend more for his replacement, but we more than likely will.On Dani Guiza, I have a bad feeling that he may do an Ezquerro, and not be nearly as good as the player he was at Athletic. Santi got 19 goals in his last season for Bilbao from the left wing but couldn’t make the step up. Guiza doesn’t seem to have the ball control or class for our needs.
I would still expect us to sign Huntelaar or Berbatov before him.We are very nearly there though. Henrique is tying up the loose ends before completing his move also. We have to sign a left winger as priority 1. Even if we didn’t sell Ronaldinho, he can’t be played as winger anymore as he can’t run. He could be played as an attacking midfielder if we can’t find a place for him but we don’t have any left winger. Palacio, Mancini, Silva and Arshavin have all been linked at different times; and I’m happy with any of the above
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One Question, Who is Dani’s replacement, in case of suspension or injury?
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I cant wait to see this guy blast shots from outside the box… with eto/messi/xavi tapping in some winners
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@ JC. i believe it is and will be Oleguer.
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Oh no, not Mr. Ogre!!! Ballbeav,we are doomed!!!
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do we have any good LB from Barca B?
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Messi has started to worry me, first he’s adamant to play for the olympics, then he’s pretty vocal about his support for Roonie, and now he’s dreaming of Serie A..
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Not that I know of, Lobo, but we don’t need a LB. We have Abidal, and Sylvinho has re-signed. If you meant right back, though, the only top quality backs in Barca B that I know of are Fali and Marc Valiente (who, on Barca B’s wikipedia page, has apparently signed with Sevilla, although his own page says otherwise).
This is, without a doubt, the most exciting signing of the season. We now have the best right back, the best right winger, the best defence (arguable, but Puyol will destroy anybody, anywhere, ever), possibly the best midfield combination (Yaya- the best DM, Keita- who compliments him just perfectly, and Xavi- who is offically the best player of the Euros, and is also one of the best passers in the world, if not the best) and the best potential (Bojan, obviously).
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We need to cool off guys…more important than potential is to actually make it happen on the field…granted we have many good players and back ups this year, but as long as they don’t know how to play as a group all this does not matter…Did we not have the best striker list last season (and with Bojan and Gio upgraded from Barca B we had depth too) but by the season end Barca’s attack was toothless, not in terms of possession but in terms of balls in the back of the net…
I would be much more humble and hope people do understand that with a group that has had so many changes it will take time for Guardiola to make them work like a team…not something we want to hear but the truth…Posted from
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Like any player, Messi’s head can be prone to getting big. If he wants to leave at some point, he will. We’ll get a ton of cash for him, and be able to replace him. No player is irreplacable.
Looks like Chelsea and Milan have taken a good look at Gordinho and said “Whoa, baby! One at a time! We’re out until we see that he can get in shape.” Looks like we might be stuck with him until January, at least. But he does have some motivation, unless he wants to just sit his fat ass around and collect a paycheck for being too out of shape to play.
There’s also the rumor that Milan will want to do a loan deal, to be made permanent if R10 can get himself into playing shape. If not, he and Ronaldo can check out the Italian travestis. Stay tuned for further developments.
News on the Arshavin front: Some places are reporting that Chelsea, thanks to the Abramovich connection and being prepared to overpay for him, have a deal with Zenit, and Arshavin is headed for London for physicals, etc. We’re planning a last-ditch bid, in the hopes that Arshavin’s love for us will sway him. It might him, but Zenit is out to get paid. Frankly, anything more than 15 million Euros for this guy is silly. He’s still an unknown quantity in a league of real quality. If Chelsea wants to splash for him, they can have him.
Over at Pep’s most excellent fcbtransfers, rumor is that Chelsea has floated a Malouda plus 22 million for Eto’o. I know people are going to flip over this, because they are over there, but I would say yes to that deal in two seconds. Malouda was a terrible fit for the English game, but he’d be dynamite over here. He can play both wings, and works exceptionally well with Henry. He’s a legitimate attacking threat and has pace for days.
I know, I know. We don’t know if the Eto’o thing can be worked out, he’s one of the best strikers in the world, etc, etc. But I ask you all: Does anyone REALLY think that we’re going to be able to re-sign Eto’o after his term ends in 2010, no matter what kind of season he has for us this term?
So we’re going to need a striker anyhow. What we don’t know is if the rumor was being floated to see what the mood would be on both sides. That happens quite a bit, as we all know.
Two posts coming up, so things will be hot and heavy. Pique was presented today, so look for that one. Also, I will have a post that will lay out the full deal on the upcoming confidence vote, pros and cons.
Mat is right, btw….we will end the season better than we will begin it. If we can stay close to the top of the table by mid-point in the season, we’ll go top, I think.
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Apparently, Martin Caceres play’s left back for Uruguay. So shud we get rid of Abidal?
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I don’t think so, JC. Abidal is a keeper, and he showed why the last matches of last season, as he was more stable, which meant that he roamed less and consequently got into less trouble. That howler of a penalty in Euros is why he should never, EVER be allowed near central defense.
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If we are risk taking, then we can think that Malouda might just fit very well in the left hand side connecting with the frenchmen Abidal and Henry. But we will have to be optimistic to believe that. I dont like his age or height but he compensates that with some good experience gained at French ligue, EPL, champions league and international football. Good thing is that if the above rumours are true, we are able to take this risk at the best price, which would be = (price of Eto`o) - 23 million. NOW, ETO`O have sold for a lot if we it wasnt abundantly clear that we desperately want him off (guadiolas statement). It would only take further comments from Eto`o saying that he wants to leave to a top club and price wud further fall. On the other hand, some hard work might make this deal look not so good. There are loads of genuine good wingers out there who are - young, pacy , skillfull, tall and not yet recognised. Some hard work put into talent searching can bring returns in the same. Such a thing along with good luck and good negotiating for Eto`o might provide a better scenario than this one.
But, like so many other rumours, i dont think this one is true either. Also, i wanted to know why we are looking for options only from outside. And that too for not only first team options but substituitions and depth options as well. Aren`t there players in our youth team who can be integrated with the big boys. Guardiola surely knows the players inside out having coached them last year.If we are set on taking risks with young not-so-proven players, Shudnt we take some risks with the youth products? Dont we feel really good when we see Bojan, Messi, Puyol, Xavi or Iniesta perform really well. It wud definitely add to cohesiveness, long term planning and wud enable us better in our efforts of keeping our talents. Also, creative midfielders have been produced in over abundance in the past from the youth academy and i am sure there are lots of them right now too. With a little risk taking policy, our youth team can become an even better supply of players for the first team.
Lastly, just like the Ezequiel saga, every barca fan seems to be disapointed with chelseas interest in Arshavin. Is that really such a bad thing to happen? I mean how can everyone be so sure that he will fit into that role just because of good performances in Euros? Is he almost worth as much as Moutinho (who had a bad performance in Euros, agreed) who is younger. Having seen Arshavin only in Euro, only attraction for me was his publicly stated love for barca. Now if that is true, then he will join our club anyway now that we have made an offer. If not then, is it such a bad loss?
A side comment, Instead of Seydou Keita, i wud have preferred if we got Jesus Navas from Sevilla as the attacking midfielder and looked for the second defensive midfielder elsewhere. And I Still want someone with good long range shots (hopefully midfielders not strikers) confident enough to pull the trigger often. That combined with wingers providing genuine width (The way Giuly used to do after recieving diagonal aerial ball from ronaldinho. I think Alves will be able to do that recieving balls from crative central midfielder) by stretching the play should make our attack more potent.
And lastly, Dani Alves is a superb signing. If he can match up to his own performances in the last three years, then we`re set. I hope he stays with us for a long time and becomes the permanent right back solution for Barca the way Roberto carlos filled left back for EE(This is in reference to his comments saying that he wud like to go back to sevilla sometime in the future). Best thing about having Dani Alves on the pitch is that it can be compared to putting two players on the wing at the same time - One wingback who is not that good with tackles but definitely works hard covering his territory and second midfield winger who leads penetrating attack from the wing. His free kick abilities will be a god gift to barca.
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Although I think Alves will be a quality signing for Barca, and a true threat to their opponents, I doubt he’ll have the same impact he had with Sevilla. Bear in mind that that Sevilla team was built around Alves, whereas in Barcelona he’ll be just one piece of the puzzle. Also, Barcelona like to play possession, passing and lateral football, while Sevilla’s system was fast paced vertical attacking. Alves will have a very different role to play, one I think he can adapt to, but I’d temper my anticipation if I were a Barcelona fan.
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Word from Txiki is that Henrique will be loaned out if the transfer happens, I’m guessing to a low-to-mid table team in La Liga. It would make sense. Get him some European experience and let him play 30+ games in his first season as a real tester. An example learned from Villareal who made a cool €14million profit on Caceres for one season not even having to pay his wages.
If Arshavin joins Chelsea then we’ll look somewhere else but I do think that he would be a good ‘fit’ into our system. I do think that for €15million it’s not really a gamble as he brought Russia both to the Euro’s long with playing a couple of great games there and won the Uefa Cup for Zenit. There are alternatives but he may be the best value.
Inter still haven’t tied up Roma’s Mancini so he may be another value option, probably available a €15million also.When Txiki said that he still wanted an attacking midfielder, a left winger and a no.9 I wonder did he take into account all the probable outgoing players…
Zambrotta for Alves, Thuram for Caceres, Edmilson for Pique and Keita for Deco so far. We will still probably lose Gudjohnsen, Ronaldinho and Eto’o, Giovani was sold and Ezquerro’s contract expired.
That means replacing five players with three. With all of the talk about depth, we don’t have a lot of depth upfront. I would still sign two forwards and a versatile attacking midfielder who can also play on the wing… Arshain or Silva. Then a forward to play on either wing like Palacio or Sergio Garcia and the big no.9 like Huntelaar or Berbatov.
But I’m not the one spending the money…Posted from
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We may also take note of the fact that Samir Nasri still hasn’t completed his move to Arsenal se may be another option for the midfield role. He could push up to a forward role too even though he does not score many goals. His immensely talented and said before that we were his favourite team to watch. The way we play football made us the team he enjoyed most.
On another note, Robinho is rumoured to be thinking about buying out his EE contract for a mere €10million and walking away from them because of the way they treated him. Ha ha ha. I love when this sort of thing happens to them. They are broke, by all accounts, and instead of raising funds by selling him for around €25-30million as reported he’ll just walk away with his middle finger raised.
Not that it would happen or that I want it to but I’d wet myself laughing if he joined us. It would be hilarious.Posted from
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john, you are definately right that Alves probably won’t shine like he did at Sevilla, but I still think that he can be a key player. He is the best wing-back in the world, and I think he can be deadly in any system.
Good comments Ciaran. I would assume that Txiki knew who was leaving. He did say that Deco, Ronnie and Eto’o would leave, and it is only logical to assume that he knew about the others. And we really only need to replace four players. Ezquerro doesn’t count.
And believe me, I have been hoping for Nasri for a long time. I would take him over Arshavin, Silva or Moutinho any day of the week. I was really hoping that he had a good Euro so that he would demand more wages and screw Arsenal over. Still, I would love to ambush their plans. It would be karma for stealing our youth products.
And Robinho would be hilarious, but I don’t want that ego anywhere near our team. I would love him to screw over the Evil Empire, though. That might put a dent in their Ronaldo plans.
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Word is that the Glazers have all but said “sell Ronaldo,” recognizing that if they are offered crazy money for a player, they’d be crazy not to take it. Man U fans will find that Ronaldo is not irreplacable.
And John, I would argue that Sevilla wasn’t really built around any one player, which made them so dangerous. Yes, Alves was a big part of their attack, and he’ll be a big part of our attack. I suspect that part of why we got him is to add some aspects of that fast vertical game to our bag of tricks.
I think he’s going to kick ass and take names. I can’t wait.
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alves is easily the best right back in the world going up, he is also one of the best in defense. Since attacking rightbacks are so important in CL its a very smart move.
Now we have the right, centre(toure, keita, iniesta, xavi) and the defense sorted. The left is still much weaker then many teams especially in CL competition and attack is great if you want an early service kind of play which barce doesnt do, get a target man to bring the wingers into play and goals will be scored.Posted from
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Oh, man - I think Sevilla was completely built around Alves, in a way that realized a lot of the talent around him. Sevilla’s style of play was exactly Alves’ stength: charging directly up the field. It was like watching a pack of horses, and it was thrilling, and Alves was the leader of the pack.
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I agree with you john, but I still think that he has the talent to shine in any team in the world. And john, I’ve been wondering, do you want Ronaldo? It seems that alot of RM fans are split, and I was just curious as to what you thought.
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I’m firmly, firmly against it. Especially when players like Robinho or Sergio Ramos enter the conversation. All in all, we have a team that’s clicking, that just won consecutive titles, and have at least a decent bid on European success.
While I’m not terribly concerned about the impact Ronaldo might have in the locker room, I’m more worried about what will happen on the pitch. Assuming Ronaldo’s role will be a right winger, as we’re stocked on the left and center of midfield, we’d be going from a team who’s forward strength was the left side, creative strength’s middle and left, to a team that would most likely focus it’s attacks toward the right. That’s not a huge shift, but it will take a long time to adjust, and most likely ruin (not help) Madrid’s immediate hopes of European success.
Another reason I’m opposed, is that I’m a fan who’s happy to see Madrid leave the Galactico era. With a lot of our youth developing and returning to the Bernabeu (Grenaro, De la Red, Torres, and possibly Garcia) and the bright youth recently brought in (Sneijder, Drenthe, Robben), adding in a Galctico will displace kids like that, who could grow with the team. I’m opposed.
And lastly, I’m of the camp that believe La Liga will humble a player of Ronaldo’s talent. After years of partial success in La Liga, Torres can go to the EPL and make it look easy; I sincerely doubt a player can accomplish the reverse. If Ronaldo comes to Spain, he’ll probably, well, make the EPL look easy. (For this same reason - Isaiah - I think Henry deserves more credit, and - Kevin - you all should stay far, far away from Adebayor.)
Thanks for asking jake, and sorry if my response is a bit lengthy
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Great thoughts. It is pretty illogical to drastically change a relatively youthful team that dominated the league for one ridiculously priced, arrogant, egotistical player.
Posted from
Australia
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