Dani Alves, who is playing this Saturday's Olympic Games final with Brazil against Spain, was only ten years old when he got up at five in the morning to help his father in the fields of Juazeiro, before leaving for school. He did not know then that he would become a specialist in another type of crops, that of trophies. With 42 awards on his CV, the Brazilian international, passed through six different clubs (Bahia, Sevilla, Barcelona, PSG from 2017 to 2019, Juventus and Sao Paulo), is already the most successful footballer in history, Messi ne counting, at 34, "only" 38 titles. Only two competitions are missing from his heavy bag: the World Cup, after the failures in 2010 and 2014, (he missed the 2018 World Cup through injury) and… the Olympic Games.
The right side, known for his many tattoos as his outspokenness, will therefore have the opportunity to help young Brazilians to win gold in Japan.
“Even though I have had some great moments in my career, given that this is my first participation in the Olympics, I have butterflies in my stomach,” he said before the tournament.
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As a nice nod to his rich career, Alves finds on his way Spain, his opponent in the final of the Under-20 World Cup in December 2003 when he won the first of his four trophies with the Seleção, two years after the first of his career, the Bahia Championship, at 18.
"Dani is a madman, a solar boy"
Since then, he has notably won 23 titles with FC Barcelona (2008-2016), including three Champions Leagues, six Liga and four Copa del Rey, two UEFA Cups with Sevilla, twice the Ligue 1, a Coupe du France and a Coupe de la Ligue with Paris and a Serie A with Juventus.
Back home, he won a new title last May, the paulista championship, with Sao Paulo FC.
"I believe that the key to what I have achieved, in football and beyond, remains in my dedication, which is the same today as when I was 20 years old," Dani Alves told us in October 2017.
In Tokyo, the ever-green captain of the Olympic Seleção played every game until the semi-final against Mexico on penalties. Alves succeeded in his but his contribution is not limited to the field. He also likes to spread energy and good humor in the locker room, like the positive thoughts and other aphorisms he distils on social networks. “The end will only have meaning if the trip was worth it,” he wrote about his team's Olympic adventure. After the semi-final, he slipped: "There is strength in unity and the force applied at the right time does the rest".
"Dani is a madman, a sunny boy, who lives his life at 300 miles an hour, always with a smile", summed up his former partner at Juve Giorgio Chiellini one day. "And with 43 trophies in his bag", we may soon be able to add to this beautiful compliment.
