Barca must avoid becoming a prisoner of the past by rejecting Dani Alves
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 10 Nov 2021 10:53 GMT
- 3 min read
Barcelona are a club that is in danger of becoming shackled to a past that cannot be recreated.
The return of the iconic figure of Xavi in a head coach capacity is a move that makes sense in the circumstances, but the possibility of a 38-year-old Dani Alves returning in a playing capacity is not.
And yet links between the club and the full-back are strengthening.
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On Tuesday, president Joan Laporta opened the door to the veteran Brazil international returning to Camp Nou.
“Dani Alves helped the club in a number of ways – and he has offered us his help from a sporting point of view as well,” he explained. “Like with Carles Puyol, there is a very direct relationship. They can help if Xavi needs it.”
Alves has previous intimated his willingness to return to Barca, with the defender having left the club in 2016 to join Juventus.
More than five years down the track, after spells with Paris Saint-Germain and Sao Paulo, it is evident that his playing days at the top level are over.
He might have led Brazil to the Olympic title in the summer, but that competition is little more than a sideshow.
And yet UOL reports that there are talks scheduled between Barcelona and Dani Alves over a move.
Forget Barcelona’s financial situation – this is a move that is not healthy for the playing staff at the club.
Dani Alves on Barcelona return
Dani Alves has been upbeat about the prospect of returning to the club.
“There's too much love, respect and care I have for this home. If Barca think they need me all they need to do is call,” he recently said.
"I believe I can add things wherever I go but at Barca now especially with the youngsters they have.
“We were young once and we weren't prepared to defend a responsibility as big as defending Barca is, no matter how good they are or how much they are spoken about. It's all new.
“You need a mix of young and old to give balance and the chance to fight for great things."
Dani Alves, though, would represent a needless step into the past, particularly since he has played only 27 minutes of competitive football in nearly three months.
With Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets, Barca have their link to the halcyon days on the field, and in any case, these veterans are two of the players there has been a willingness to cull over mediocre performances this season.
Why add a third in the form of Dani Alves?
Simply having these figures from the sextuple winning days of 2009 will not recapture the magic of that squad. Instead, having such ghosts hanging around the team instead threatens to undermine the talent already at Camp Nou.
What message does it send to Sergino Dest that he needs an injury-prone near-40-year-old as competition?
Barcelona’s finances have been allowed to deteriorate because of the club’s desperate groping at past glories. Laporta and Xavi cannot allow the playing staff to go in the same direction.
