Last time around in 2009, Dani Alves missed the UEFA Champions League final because of suspension. So the opportunity to play a role in the victory on May 28, clearly has the Brazilian defender excited. The vivacious player is set on bringing the trophy back to Camp Nou and continue the celebrations. In an interview to The Guardian, writer Fernando Duarte talks to Alves about a range of topics including the El Clasico, the coach of Barca’s fiercest rival whose name he refuses to take throughout and the allegations that he dramatised the knock that led to Pepe’s expulsion. Alves, the latest Barca player to take to twitter, also talks about his contract renewal, saying that despite better financial offers from elsewhere leaving a great team would be a mistake. Excerpts from the interview after the jump. The original article can be read here.

“He concedes his style of play necessitates tremendously hard work on the training field and matchday pitch, but that is nothing new in the life of the son of a Brazilian farmer who grew up in the arid and impoverished north-east of the country, helping the family fight the elements to maintain an allotment that produced melons and onions sold at a local market. This was the family’s main source of income until Alves was spotted by a scout for EC Bahia as a 15-year-old in 1998. Four years later he would move to Sevilla, where his versatility resulted in stints as a midfielder and a second striker in a superbly successful six-year spell.”

On his transfer and early days at the club

“Barça paid more money for me than they did to sign Ronaldinho and people were quick to point that out,” Alves says. “That only raised the pressure and the expectations around my performances. Also, as much as everybody knows what Barça is about, it is one thing to watch them, completely another to get used to playing that way. Even for a Brazilian.”

On the incident in El Clasico #3 at Bernabeu

“I was called a teatrero [Spanish slang for play-acting] but what amazed me the most is that people simply forgot the fact that Pepe came all studs up against me,” Alves says. “I know and he knows how hard he hit me. The only reason I don’t have a scar or something worse to show is because I wear carbon fibre shinpads to prevent injuries. If you listen to the audio in the Spanish TV, you can hear the impact of his studs. Maybe if I had broken my leg people would stop talking.”

On his contract

“I was really tempted,” he admits. “There were some offers and I really like the English style. But then look at what I’ve got here at Barcelona. I play with amazing guys, a great coach and our style is admired around the world. It’s priceless.”

Source: The Guardian

Image credit: Getty Images