Trophy Harvester-Dani Alves shows no sign of giving up the trophy
Belo Horizonte (Brazil)-The 36-year-old Brazilian captain Dani Alves can be forgiven if he wants to hang up his boots and appreciate his bursting custom sports trophy cabinet.
On the contrary, Alves is preparing to play a key role against Peru in the Copa America final in Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium on Sunday, and the defender shows no signs of letting up.
Alves said: "I know how old I am, I know what this means in football, but I know people want results." When he left Paris Saint-Germain last month, no club has announced yet.
"I focus on this. I don't pay attention to my age or what people think of me.
"I'm not here to shut up anyone, I'm just to finish my job."
In fact, he already has an America’s Cup title in his trophy cabinet, and according to some lists, he has more trophies than his age.
He won the Champions League three times, the old UEFA Cup twice, the Club World Cup three times, and the European Super Cup four times-this is just the level of continental clubs.
6 La Liga crowns and Barcelona, 2 Ligue 1 champions and Paris Saint-Germain, 1 Serie A champion and Juventus, not to mention 8 domestic cups in Spain, France and Italy.
In Brazil, he won the 2007 Copa America and two UEFA Cups.
In the 20 minutes after his 2-0 semi-final victory over Argentina on Tuesday, any suggestion he might be satisfied with his victory was eliminated, when he left the game with 3 Argentine players for Roberto Phil Mino created an opportunity for Gabriel Jesus to score in Belo.
Alves’ technique is a wonderful thing, he caught a dropped ball, cut off Marcus Acuna’s head, sent a sliding Leandro to cut the wrong way, and then left Nicolas Stariafi Ko chased the shadow without looking at Firmino to pass the ball.
Since then, the Brazilian team sat in the box, they won the victory, and took a place in the final, after the Manchester City striker resolutely counterattack, Firmino scored from Jesus' pass.
What led to this goal is another example of Alves's dedication to this cause.
Under the ball, Alves crossed Sergio Aguero in the penalty area without the referee seeing it.
At that time Aguero did not participate in the competition, but Alves did not take risks.
This is illegal, this is a foul and should result in a penalty, but Alves won the game at all costs, which has long placed him in a good position.
Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni complained after the final whistle that the result of the game was unfair to his team, claiming that they were "superior".
But without such light blue and white glasses, there is no doubt that the owner is on the better side, and Alves is an outstanding performer-considering how well Jesus performed, this is not a remarkable feat. Nor is it Lionel Messi showing his unparalleled advantages.
Regardless of whether Brazil wins on Sunday, Alves has been regarded by many as the most successful player in history.
UEFA placed him at the top of the list of major trophies won by a 29-year-old player in Europe, and Messi was only fourth at the age of 26.
In another list, considering the metal football trophies won by the national team and the missing domestic Super Cup from the UEFA roster, Alves topped the list with 39 trophies.
"In my craziest dream, I never thought I could get where I have," Alves said in an interview with Fox Sports a few months ago.
"I come from poverty, from the reality experienced by many people around the world.
"When I left home at the age of 15, my goal was not to win a lot, but to go home. My parents were proud of me."
After a career from Sevilla to Barcelona, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, and 114 appearances for the national team, Alves now hopes to inspire others from a similar background.
He told Fox: "My goal is to inspire young people, these little dreamers, to try and never give up.
