Dani Alves heading for third century

Passion and temperament. That’s Dani Alves. A unique character on the right hand side of the Barça team. A unique yet prolific player, in seven seasons at the club, the Brazilian has become one of the strongest personalities in the squad and has a knack for grabbing attention both on and off the pitch. Last season, he overtook Philip Cocu to become the foreigner with the second most appearances for the first team, now topped only by Leo Messi, and if he plays against Bilbao at the Camp Nou the weekend after next, he’ll make it to 300 league games in a Barça jersey.

In 299 games played up to now, he’s scored 20 goals, an astonishing figure for a defender. His most memorable strikes include one against Real Madrid in the cup quarter final of 2012 and his two against Manchester City last season, one at home and one in England.

Goals and competitions

In 190 Liga fixtures, he’s scored 14 goals, and he’s scored a further five in his 63 Champions League outings. The other goal came in the Spanish Cup, in which he’s featured in 32 matches. His other appearances were in the Spanish Super Cup (9), the European Super Cup (2) and the Clubs World Cup (3).

Dani Alves had already won several honours before he joined the club in 2008, including two UEFA Cups with Sevilla and the Copa America with Brazil in 2007. And at Barça his honour list has been considerably extended. The right-back has been involved in the conquest of no fewer than 16 titles: four Spanish Ligas, two Champions Leagues, two Spanish Cups, two European Super Cups, four Spanish Super Cups and two Clubs World Cups. Not to mention a host of individual accolades, including four appearances in the FIFPro World XI.

There is no denying the enormous contribution that Alves, who started out in life working on his father’s farm in Juazeiro, Bahia, has made to FC Barcelona’s incredible feats of the last few years. And as he continues to amass first team appearances, we can be sure that he will also be helping the team to further trophies. Parabéns, Dani!

[[BOTOVERMELL::Dani Alves profile++::http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/staff/players/alves::HOR::NF::NO-TRACKING::::::]]