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Dani Alves: Barcelona nothing without Guardiola
The Blaugrana boss, who has claimed 13 titles since taking charge in 2008, is out of contract at the end of the current campaign and has yet to reveal if he will sign a new one.
Feb 22, 2012 1:12:00 PM
By Mark Doyle
Getty Images
Barcelona defender Dani Alves is "convinced" that Pep Guardiola will sign a new deal with the Catalans and insists that the team would be "nothing" without the coach.
Guardiola, who has led the club to 13 titles since taking charge in 2008, is out of contract at the end of the season and has yet to decide whether to sign one of his customary one-year extensions.
However, Alves remains optimistic that the Blaugrana boss will soon commit his future to the reigning world, European and Spanish champions.
"I think that Guardiola will sign again because without him we're nothing," the Brazil international said. "Without him we'd lose our anchor and we'd drift away. Guardiola has given us stability."
However, should Guardiola opt to move on, Dani Alves argued that it would be impossible for anyone to accuse the former Spain international of leaving the club in the lurch.
"If he decides not to stay on, it wouldn't be a betrayal of Barca," the right back insisted. "You need a happy medium in life. If he goes, everything he's done for the club will remain."
While Barcelona has reached the final of the Copa del Rey and appears to have one foot in the last eight of the Champions League following a victory at Bayer Leverkusen last week, the Catalans face a real battle to hold on to their La Liga crown.
The reigning champion is currently 10 points adrift of leader Real Madrid and Dani Alves admits that the team's performances on the road this term have not been up to scratch.
"The gap is perhaps a bit overstated but we must have made some mistakes to be where we are," he admitted. "We've played badly in patches away from home. We've lacked balance when pushing forward. But there's still time to improve.
"We have to take the Valencia match as an example,” the former Sevilla ace added, alluding to last weekend’s 5-1 demolition of Los Che at Camp Nou.
Guardiola, who has led the club to 13 titles since taking charge in 2008, is out of contract at the end of the season and has yet to decide whether to sign one of his customary one-year extensions.
However, Alves remains optimistic that the Blaugrana boss will soon commit his future to the reigning world, European and Spanish champions.
"I think that Guardiola will sign again because without him we're nothing," the Brazil international said. "Without him we'd lose our anchor and we'd drift away. Guardiola has given us stability."
However, should Guardiola opt to move on, Dani Alves argued that it would be impossible for anyone to accuse the former Spain international of leaving the club in the lurch.
"If he decides not to stay on, it wouldn't be a betrayal of Barca," the right back insisted. "You need a happy medium in life. If he goes, everything he's done for the club will remain."
While Barcelona has reached the final of the Copa del Rey and appears to have one foot in the last eight of the Champions League following a victory at Bayer Leverkusen last week, the Catalans face a real battle to hold on to their La Liga crown.
The reigning champion is currently 10 points adrift of leader Real Madrid and Dani Alves admits that the team's performances on the road this term have not been up to scratch.
"The gap is perhaps a bit overstated but we must have made some mistakes to be where we are," he admitted. "We've played badly in patches away from home. We've lacked balance when pushing forward. But there's still time to improve.
"We have to take the Valencia match as an example,” the former Sevilla ace added, alluding to last weekend’s 5-1 demolition of Los Che at Camp Nou.
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