"When I wear this jersey, I feel like a superhero" - Dani Alves opens up about his Barcelona return

Barcelona are more than a club to Dani Alves; the club have been his home. The 38-year-old right-back was picked up as a free agent by the Catalan club and is expected to make his second debut for them in January next year.

One of the most decorated players in the history of the game, Alves recently spoke about his return to Barcelona. With the club in a difficult condition at the moment, the Blaugrana's new recruit has vowed to give it his all for the club.

He said:

"I've worked so hard all my life and now I’m here to help Barcelona grow. It’s an incredible challenge and I’m fascinated by it. To fight and defend this jersey — when I wear this jersey, I feel like a superhero."

Alves felt it was inevitable that he would one day return to Barcelona.

"I'll try to rescue the Barca that we all love so much. There’s no margin for error. This is a great opportunity. More than 50 per cent of my winning mentality was generated in my time here. I still have a house here and part of my family live here. It was inevitable that I came back."

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Barcelona are starting a new chapter under club legend Xavi Hernandez

The return of club legend Xavi Hernandez as head coach has ushered in a new era for Barcelona. It will be put to the test in the coming weekend but Xavi has looked impressive so far in his new role.

He has defined rather clearly what he expects from everyone at the club. More importantly, he has made it clear that Barcelona deserve to be at the pinnacle of world football and steps must be taken accordingly.

Speaking at his first press conference, Xavi said:

"We understand the game as a positional game, we can't change our system. We want to press high, we want to recover the ball in our opponent's half, we want to be an intense team, we want to create chances."

He added:

"I am not discovering anything, that's Barca's DNA. An intense team, trying to give our all on the field and we are Barca and we have to try to win every single game."

Signing Dani Alves has been one of Xavi's first moves as club manager. He will now have to inspire an injury-plagued side who are down on morale and form to rally behind him and start getting positive results.