Sand some thought that the signing of Dani alves It was an act in front of the gallery, a publicity stunt or a movement to raise the morale of Barcelona, I was wrong. With the passing of the weeks it is becoming increasingly clear that the incorporation of the Brazilian full-back comes to cover a lack in the current Barça squad.
The reality is that since Alves left Barcelona in 2016, the Catalans have not been able to fill your vacancy with solvency. They have passed sides of all fur, but none has been able to become the master of the right-handed side of the culé defense.
At 38 years old, whoever was a side of the Seville has returned to Can Barça with the intention of recovering the ownership that it should never have lost. “I was never born to be second, always first. I come to guerrilla, I do not come to spend time or live in Barcelona. I come to play and fight for a position”, Dani assured in your presentation.
If something makes it clear that the Barcelona is waiting for Alves -He will not be able to start competing until January- is how he is managing Xavi Hernandez the position of right back in his first games in front of the team.
He has been a conductor for three meetings and has not married anyone. There has not been an unequivocal bet by a footballer to occupy that position. In fact, you have modified the drawing, moving to a 3-4-3. He has preferred to align three centrals in the absence of a side with hierarchy.
Tests
The first day, against the Spanish, Mingueza acted as a right back, but Raúl de Tomás made it clear that he is not cut out for that position. The bet did not work. Since then, Xavi has opted for the line of three centrals back.
In the absence of the inscription of Dani alves, the two natural choices for that position are Sergiño Dest and Sergi Roberto. At the moment, neither of them has received the confidence of the Egarense coach.
In the case of Sergi Roberto, his recurring injuries weigh on him. It does not end up being available clearly, which slows down Xavi when choosing it.
As to Dest, the American has been looking for his place all season. With Koeman He participated a lot as a winger, but it was clear that it is not his thing. A team like him Barça, who needs more efficiency than ever, cannot afford to have a player in the last meters with so many problems when defining.
Debut in Arabia
With this panorama, it seems clear that in the Barcelona technical area count the days until Dani alves can make his official debut with the Barcelona. If everything goes according to plan, it will be on January 2, the date for which the first league match of 2022 is scheduled for the Catalans, against him Majorca on Palm.
However, it is expected that Alves play your first game sooner, in just a couple of weeks. It will be in the friendly match that the Barcelona will dispute in Saudi Arabia against Boca Juniors. That meeting, in homage to Diego Armando Maradona, will take place on December 14 in Riad. There it is expected that Dani alves The shirt with the number ‘8’ of the Barça team wears for the first time. Until then, Xavi will continue to test on that right wing.
