Barça Acquire Dani Alves, Strengthen Right Side

In what may be the most significant transfer of this season, FC Barcelona has secured the services of Sevilla fullback and Brazilian international Daniel Alves. Despite being under contract until 2012, the multi-talented Alves, who shed tears at his Sevilla farewell, had previously stated that he’d like to explore the options available to him with larger, more prominent clubs. On July 2, Alves was transferred to Barcelona for a €29 million ($45.8 million) fee, with an additional €6 million payment possible based on certain performance-related factors, making him the world’s most expensive right back. Alves is the second Sevilla man to join FC Barcelona this summer, joining midfielder Seydou Keita, who was acquired in May.

Daniel Alves is among the most multi-dimensional defenders in world football, not only able to play his own right back position, but also capable of doubling as an attacking winger. Also, Alves has been more than just an individual standout- he’s been a vital member of successful teams. With Alves playing a key role, Sevilla won the 2006 and 2007 UEFA Cup championships (Alves was the UEFA Cup MVP in 2006) and the 2007 Copa del Rey. In addition to his club successes, Daniel Alves has won at the international level as well.

On July 15, in Brazil title-clinching 3-0 victory over Argentina in the 2007 Copa America final, his versatility was on full display. In just his ninth international appearance for his country, Alves not only assisted on one of Brazil’s first half goals, he capped off a beautiful second half run down the right side to put the game out of reach with a powerful strike to the far post.

Given his versatility and beautiful style of play, Alves is an ideal fit at the Nou Camp for two reasons. First, teaming Alves with Carlos Puyol in defense, as well as the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta in the midfield and Lionel Messi in attack (these two could be very special together), should give Barcelona the most talented unit in La Liga. Second, Alves’ affinity for attacking football personifies Barça’s beautiful approach to the game, and will allow him to seamlessly fit with his new club. Following last season’s monstrosity, Dani Alves will help FC Barcelona return to playing the aesthetically pleasing brand of football that, for many years, has brought smiles to face of Barcelona fans worldwide, who crave not only victory, but beautiful football.

What Does Keita Signing Mean for Yaya?

Pursuing quality in the transfer window is never a poor strategy, but the recent addition of Sevilla’s Seydou Keita to the Barcelona midfield begs an obvious question- What about Yaya?

Yaya Toure joined FC Barcelona from AS Monaco in June 2007 for a transfer fee of approximately €9 million ($14 million), and provided a solid presence in the Barça midfield, showcasing himself as a player with box-to-box range on the pitch. With his quality at just 25 years of age, combined with his ideal physique for a defensive midfielder, it’s not an exaggeration to say that he will soon be among the world’s best defensive midfielders. As such, there’s little doubt that he would generate considerable interest on the open market.

Why explore this issue now? With the €14 million addition of Seydou Keita to the Barcelona midfield, Yaya Toure’s future role with the club has become somewhat unclear. With precious few exceptions, the disastrous finish to last season, particularly in attack (just 4 goals in 8 games in April and a humiliating 4-1 loss to Real Madrid on May 7) has called everyone’s contribution into question and created a heightened sense of urgency in the boardroom, and may result in Yaya finding himself as the odd man out.

With the reigns now in the hands of Nou Camp legend Pep Guardiola, there’s sure to be a focus on bolstering the attack and erasing the memories of last season’s disappointing performances. To that end, Keita could be beneficial to Barcelona, having averaged a goal in every 10.5 league games over the course of his career (24 in 251 appearances since 1999). However, a more accurate indication of his influence in attack, we should calculate the same figure since 2002, given the dramatic improvement in his goal scoring since that time. Since 2002, Keita has appeared in 187 league games (156 for Lens, 31 for Sevilla) and scored 23 goals, or one goal for every 8.1 league appearances, an impressive tally for a defensive midfielder. Using the same measure to examine Yaya Toure’s goal production reveals that he’s scored 15 times in his 174 career league games, or once every 11.6 appearances.

Is this much ado about nothing? Perhaps, but it’s important to remember that a bruised ego is sometimes the most damaging injury that a team can suffer. To be fair, there’s been no indication that Yaya is the least bit alienated by the signing of Keita, but the fact that both men will be competing for the same minutes on the pitch suggests that, sooner or later, someone will be dissatisfied with his role on the pitch.

However, until that happens, if it ever does, Barcelona will enjoy embarrassment of riches, with not one, but two world-class options at the defensive midfield position.

Barcelona Sign Sevilla's Keita

On Monday, the transfer of Seydou Keita from Sevilla to FC Barcelona was completed as he signed a 4-year contract (which is said to have a €90 million buy-out clause), with Barcelona believed to have paid Keita's buy-out clause of €14 million to Sevilla. Seydou Keita, cousin of Juventus’ Momo Sissoko, is Barça’s first signing for the 2008-09 season, and is expected to shore up the midfield.

Upon joining the club Keita said “For everybody, Barça is a great club, a team everyone wants to play for. I was lucky enough to come to Spain with Sevilla, which is also a great club, a club that gave me everything and helped me grow. Now I’m in Barcelona and I’m very happy but I’m very grateful to all the Sevilla directors and to the fans, who have always supported me. But in life you have to make choices. I’m sad to leave Sevilla, but at the same time I’m very happy to sign for Barcelona, because it’s an option that you can’t turn down even though you’ve had everything at Sevilla. The truth is I’m very happy to be here because it’s what I’ve always wanted”.

Keita began his professional career in France, spending three season with Olympique de Marseille and FC Lorient, before moving on to Lens for five season, where he ascended to the captaincy and truly broke out as a world-class player. Keita scored 19 goals in 156 games, peaking in 2006-2007, when he scored 11 goals in 37 games, and emerged as one of the premier players in France. In July 2007, Keita was sold to Sevilla, with whom he signed a four-year contract (is there a bigger joke in world football today than these “contracts”). In 31 league games for Sevilla, Keita played fantastically and managed to score four goals, adding another in a Champions League victory over Arsenal, putting him on the radar of several top European clubs.

Recipe for a Classic

In about ten minutes (2:45pm Eastern Time), at Old Trafford in Manchester, FC Barcelona will take the pitch against Premier League giants Manchester United in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in the first leg at the Nou Camp in Barcelona last week. While Man United will be looking to get back on track for the EPL-Champions League double, after an extremely ill-timed defeat at Chelsea in league play this past weekend, while for Barcelona, this afternoon represents one of the two (potentially) remaining matches that could save this season from being considered anything other than a total failure.

Thanks in part to the home field advantage of Old Trafford, and in part to Barcelona’s inconsistent and subpar (that’s being very generous) play this season, Sir Alex Ferguson ’s United side come into this matchup as the heavy favorite. As usual, leading them into the match will be the world’s best player, Cristiano Ronaldo, not to mention the complete embarrassment of riches that makes up the rest of the club’s roster ( Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Anderson, Nani, Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves, just to name a few). Make no mistake, most (if not all) logical assessments of what’s likely to happen in this match conclude in a ManU victory. However, it may not be that easy!

Despite their difficulties in depositing the ball into the net this season, and the fact that they will battle United without Ronaldinho, there is absolutely no questioning the firepower that Barcelona brings to this match: from one of the world’s truly transcendent talents in Lionel Messi, to their supremely talented duo of strikers, Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry (who has played many a big game in the UK), to a pair of gifted, if yet unproven teenagers in search of a big stage on which to burst onto the world scene (Bojan Krkic and Giovanni), not to mention the talents of midfield playmakers Xavi and Andres Iniesta and the return (from suspension) of captain Carlos Puyol. Even without Ronaldinho (and probably Deco), there is simply too much talent on the Barcelona roster for this side not to accidentally hit its stride for a match or two- and possibly just as frightening as the thought of playing this side when they are in form is the thought of having to contend with them when they are so obviously overdue for a game in which they fulfill they rather great potential.

The 0-0 aggregate score is another factor working in Barcelona’s favor, as the lack of an away goal will likely influence United’s tactical plan. While ManU will undoubtedly be playing to win this semifinal outright and avoid penalty kicks, the home side will be equally concerned with keeping Barça off the scoreboard, as even one goal scored by the visitors will put United in the extremely uncomfortable position of having to score two goals of their own, while making sure not to concede again. Against this backdrop, Barcelona is in a position to play a defensive-but-wide-open style of game this afternoon, as even falling behind United by a one-goal margin will not be disastrous, since the equalizer (provided they can find it) would in fact be the game-winning goal.

So there you have it. One game, two of the world’s most offensively talented clubs, on one of world football’s great stages, both with a very strong incentive to score– is that any good? Sit back and enjoy!