Dani Alves is in Brazil enjoying some holiday time, while he waits for the blaugrana pre-season to start. After a complicated start to the summer, in which, by unknown (yet predictable) reasons he is constantly reported as leaving the club by the Catalan press, the new coach, Tito Vilanova, said clearly that Dani is staying. Great news for us, fans of his football and his profitable relationship with Leo Messi.

In an interview given to ESPN Brasil, that Diario Sport summed up yesterday (original article can be found here), Dani said that “it’s not like Pep didn’t want to keep fighting for more silverware, it’s just that, after winning so many titles, the motivation might be a bit lower, even unconsciously. Tito won too, with Pep, but he was in second place. Now he will have the chance to step up.”

Dani addressed Tito’s role in Barça’s recent success: “He is someone that, despite not being out there in the spotlight, he had great influence and was responsible for a big part of our success, especially in tactics. Now he has the chance of being there, in the first place. We know he will use Pep’s legacy and do some good with it.”

However, Dani does not forget Pep’s four years: “I say Pep is a genius, because he gave us confidence to play our game in all kinds of situations. No matter the rival, we knew we would go out there and win.”

Asked about a possible link between Pep and Brazil’s national team, Dani said, “I don’t know if he would accept, but I do know he likes our national team.” Time will tell. . . .

Source: Sport; Image: EFE