City in for Alves?

[JoeMercer'sWay]

Messi improved considerably when Alves turned up. His ability to provide Messi with an extra option and dragged the full back (who was double marking Messi) away to mark him, opened up a whole new world for Barca.

messi plays with alves.wherease the other side of barca attack is through iniesta nad villa.messi tries to cut inside and do the job.if he cannot he passesi t back to alves who open more space to go inside for messi.

for someone "in" kathmandu...

 

[Dax777]

Like I said earlier in the thread the notion that Dani Alves can' defend is beyond ridiculous. Frankly when I hear someone make the claim, I immediately conclude they don't watch Barca. You cannot watch Barca 3 times, and come to that conclusion. It is so obvious, that not only does he defend, but he is excellent at it.

The writer said it best, when he stated that Alves sets the tone for Barca's pressing. A City team with, Alvez, Milner, and Tevez pressing the ball hard, will be transformational.

Someone suggested this useful link in another thread, so I just copied an interesting part from that source here to clarify the myth that Alves can not defend, really?

Alves's Defensive qualities

What Alves also offers Barcelona – frequently overlooked by many – is a good defensive presence on the right. As with all attacking full-backs, there’s a natural assumption that the player is not good defensively, but Alves’ game has improved immeasurably in this respect in recent years.

One could put forward the old argument that a top-class defender should not be sliding around and performing last-ditch blocks – a top-class defender should anticipate danger and pre-emptively stop it. That misses the point, though – as Alves is often told to play very high up the pitch on the right, he’s inevitably going to be dashing back and arriving just in time to get a block in. His incredible pace means he often gets in challenges other defenders would have been too sluggish to attempt, whilst he’s actually very good at anticipating opposition attacks when he’s in a position to do so. The video below shows his defensive skills well.

Before watching that, though, consider that the most important thing Alves gives Barcelona in a defensive sense is his brilliant ability to press for the entire game. Look out for him charging 40 yards up the pitch to close Joan Capdevilla down on 0:42 – it may be on the edge of the opponent’s penalty area, but that is still defending.

Who said Alves can't defend?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoufcxKfTUM[/youtube]

In terms of pressing, Alves’ combination of speed and stamina makes him possibly the best player in the world for that style of football. Individually he’s fantastic, but there’s also a case for saying it sets the tone for the entire side. Just as Xavi is even more important to Barca than his basic individual contribution (because he sets an example with his short, neat passing) Alves does the same when Barcelona lose the ball, charging up the pitch to pressure opponents.

“Without the ball we are a disastrous team, a horrible team, so we need the ball”, Guardiola says. That’s an exaggeration, but it’s that attitude that results in Barca’s intent to win the ball high up the pitch. Alves should be part of the last line of defence, so his ability to cover the entire flank by himself and press from the front is amazing.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/01/21/dani-alves/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.zonalmarking.net/2011/01/21/dani-alves/</a>

 

[Sugarloaf]

Cannot see them letting him go, he is quality. It would be a big coup for us if we managed to swing it.

I reckon the big spending has stopped for a while now. Not until some of these loan players start making sales.

 

[20sbc07]

Cannot see them letting him go, he is quality. It would be a big coup for us if we managed to swing it.

I reckon the big spending has stopped for a while now. Not until some of these loan players start making sales.

They don't have much of a choice. He wont sign a new contract so if they don't sell him then he'll leave on a free.

 

[ALL OUR LIVES]

He will play for City against Salford Red Socks

 

[Andouble]

He will play for City against Salford Red Socks

it's good to know he uses us when playing FIFA.

 

[Taylor]

I can't see us managing to sign someone of the quality of Alves with the time remaining in this window, more likely to happen in the summer imo.

 

[MonsallBlue]

I know Robinho wanted out but that was a big deal tied up in a few hours.
Suppose anything is possible where money talks

 

[bluetonium]

I seem to recall something in the past where city used Barca's medical team for a deal, so that would not be an issue unless there's a legal footnote tat says the selling team's staff can't submit the medical report.

Personally, I think bigger waves woudl be being made if moves were in progress, but you never know. There's some crafty movers behind the scenes I'll bet.

 

[BlueMark]

I can't see us managing to sign someone of the quality of Alves with the time remaining in this window, more likely to happen in the summer imo.

Didnt stop Chelsea putting the bid in for Torres last night though.