Barca are perfect for me: Alves

Barcelona’s right-back Daniel Alves has hailed Barcelona as the perfect team for him, and compared Barca’s style of football to Brazil’s.

There was some skepticism when Alves made the switch to Barca in a big money move last summer, but Barca and Alves have both had an excellent season so far.

“[People doubted] where I was going, if my family would be well, if I would be able to adapt my style of play to that of the team. But when Barça arrived, a team that played the football like no-one else, even though they were in a bad stage, I had no doubts,” he mused

“ It was rare to see Barça not winning anything. I knew that this was the perfect team for me: I wanted to come to Barcelona and not to any other team.”

He also had good words about coach Pep Guardiola, saying: “He treats everyone the same, whether you are new or very good. He has arrived with very positive concepts for a team that wants to win the title,” he said.

“That is the key of my adaptation, with some ideas to improve, and a little more. I feel at home, thanks to the confidence that the coach has given me.

“I have seen very notable improvements. Once one starts learning about team-mates and the coach, you begin to contribute things that at the beginning you did not consider important, but then you realise they are.  Above all, I have learned a lot tactically, to play without the ball.”