Daniel Alves

Daniel Alves Biography

Born on 6 May 1983, Dani Alves is Brazilian professional footballer who is a prominent member of the Brazil national team, and is regarded as one of the best full-backs of his generation.

The right footed player mainly plays at right back position. He also plays at right-midfield or wing at times.

He played for Spanish clubs, Sevilla and Barcelona for a lion’s share of his career, then switched to Italian club, Juventus and eventually to French’s Paris Saint-Germain.

Background

Alves was born in a typical middle class agricultural family in Brazil. Dani’s father helped him to develop passion for football since his childhood. At age of 10, he started as a winger, but due to his better defensive skills, his father re-positioned him as a right-back, a position he still plays up to this day.

Debut

Alves made his club career debut in the year 2001 while playing for a local club Bahia. The debut season was not good as he made 6 appearances but failed to score in any.

He broke into the national side in the year 2006 as Alves made his Brazil debut in an unofficial friendly match against Kuwaiti club Al-Kuwait.

However, he didn’t get much chance to explore the field as he was called as a substitute for a short span.

Club Career

After a mediocre debut season, Alves impressed in the second. He made 25 appearances for Bahia and scored at 4 instances.

Alves arrived in Spain at Sevilla on loan in 2002. At the Sanchez Pizjuan, he won the UEFA Cup in 2006 and 2007, as well as a Copa del Rey, a Spanish Supercopa and a UEFA Super Cup. And although a right-back, he became the Andalusians' principal attacking threat.

With a successful tenure of 5 years with Sevilla, Alves became a youth sensation. It was his skill and swiftness with the ball that earned him a whooping price of €30 million for a place in one of the world’s most renowned club, Barcelona, in 2008.

Soon he become the pivot of the team. He set up more goals for Lionel Messi than anyone else at the Catalan club, including both Xavi and Andres Iniesta. He made a total of 391 appearances for Barca and scored 21 times.

Alves switched to Juventus in 2016 on a free transfer for a 2-year deal. He made his Juventus debut in August in a 2–1 home win over Florentia in Serie A.

Alves scored his first goal with Juventus in a 4–0 home win over Cagliari, before opening his Champions League account with the club against Dinamo Zagreb six days later. In 2017, Alves had his contract with Juventus terminated by mutual consent. He made 33 appearances, winning the 2016–17 Serie A title and 2016-17 Coppa Italia in his one season in Turin.

Alves joined PSG in July 2017, after leaving Juventus. He has netted some stunning strikes in his time at PSG and is a player who can always pull out something out of the ordinary when mates are looking for inspiration. He scored one and also assisted the winning goal in a 2–1 victory over 2016-17 Ligue 1 champions, Monaco. He has made 21 appearances and scored four times for PSG.

International Career

After making an appearance as a substitute in 7 October 2006, Alves earned his first international cap in a friendly against Ecuador. He was in Brazil's team for the 2007 Copa America. He appeared in four games including the final, where he gave an assist and scored a goal in a one sided 3–0 victory against the mighty Argentina.

Alves had his moment to savor when came on as a substitute in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final against South Africa and scored the winner, a free-kick and a goal in the 88th minute in a 1–0 win.

Not only is Alves a fine footballer, but also a good human being. In 2014 FIFA World Cup, after Brazil defeated Colombia by 2–1 in the crucial quarter-finals, Alves and his teammate David Luiz were applauded by media for comforting opponent’s player James Rodriguez.