Daniel Alve world cup - player to watch

Daniel Alve, the Brazilian footballer, who currently plays as an attacking back right for Barca and the National team of Brazil. Before joining Barcelona, Alves spent a successful six year spell with sevilla, winning two UEFA cups. He joined Barcelona for €34 million plus add-ons of €6 million, becoming the most expensive defender in history, and won the treble his first season with the club.

Strengths: His speed, which he often uses as an attacking weapon, makes him another forward in the line-up.

Alves honoured that definition by responding and demonstrating through his outstanding performances that the president's words were not in vain, and that the amount the club paid for him was money well spent. A short time later he won the Copa del Rey with the team, along with the Supercopa of Spain, the Liga title and the UEFA Champions League.

From humble origins, Alves was born in the town of Juazeiro, in the state of Bahia. Esporte Clube Bahia was his first club; that's where he grew up and became a soccer player. He came up from the junior divisions of that institution to reach the national team that won, in 2003, the U-20 World Cup in Qatar. He was also chosen as the best defender of the tournament.

From Bahia he moved to Sevilla in 2002, and there he won the Copa del Rey, Supercopa of Spain, European Super Cup and UEFA Cup before sealing his move to Barca. A winner in every sense of the word, he will be looking forward to adding another trophy to his list in 2010, the year of the World Cup.