Dani Alves: Barcelona will rise again
Recalling how the club had risen after the arrivals of key figures in the past, Dani Alves insisted Barcelona would return to the top again.
Dani Alves insists “things are going to change” at Barcelona under Xavi, highlighting the way the Blaugrana had reinvented themselves in the past.
Barcelona sit a distant second in LaLiga, but despite watching rivals Real Madrid win their 35th title, can all but secure Champions League qualification by beating fifth-placed Real Betis on Saturday.
Alves announced his return to Camp Nou last November after originally departing in 2016, but had to wait until January to be eligible to play. Since then, the 38-year-old has made 10 league appearances, chipping in with one goal and two assists as Xavi looks to revive Barca’s fortunes after the ill-fated tenure of predecessor Ronald Koeman.
Barcelona set to clinch Champions League spot
As Barca close in on Champions League qualification, the Brazilian, who won 23 major trophies in his initial eight-year spell with the Blaugrana, insists the club will rise again, just as it did after Ronaldinho’s 2003 arrival or Pep Guardiola’s appointment as head coach in 2008.
“We must be united, be positive, things are going to change, as they changed when Ronaldinho arrived. Before he arrived, it seemed that things were not going [well],” Alves told the club’s media channels on Tuesday.
“Afterwards, it seemed that it would not be repeated, we [Guardiola’s team] arrived and what happened was historic.
“Now it seems that we are living through this moment of transition, but it will be again. We must be positive and have that faith, that desire and that illusion of things changing and it will [happen] again.
“This club has a lot of resilience, it has had to reinvent itself several times. You have to hold on to that power that this club has to return it to where it deserves to be. It is a club made to win, to be ahead. We have to keep winning, for people to want to be like Barca.”
Poor run at Camp Nou
Barcelona have won five of their last seven league games after beating Real Mallorca 2-1 on Sunday, as the Catalan giants ended a run of three consecutive defeats at Camp Nou – the joint-worst sequence in their history.
A talented crop of young talent has proven crucial to reviving Barca’s fortunes over the second half of the season, with the likes of Gavi, Nico Gonzalez, Ronald Araujo, and Sergiño Dest all featuring heavily for the Blaugrana this term.
Alves, who featured alongside Xavi and an array of other La Masia graduates in Guardiola’s all-conquering team, says the former midfielder is the best coach those young players could ask for.
“They have one of the best people who can teach them,” Alves added. “They have the best possible teacher, they have to pay attention to what he teaches them.
They have the qualities to be top, but it is up to them to write their own story. We will help them to be at the top and make their story.”