Top 10 Amazing Facts about Dani Alves

Photo by Tânia Rêgo/ABr-Wikimedia

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Dani Alves

Dani Alves full names are Daniel da Silva, a Brazilian professional footballer. He plays for Liga MX club UNAM and the Brazil national team,  Alves started his professional career at Bahia in 2001.

Learn more about Dani Alves in these top 10 amazing facts.

1. Dani Alves Worked as a Farmer and Trader in His Youth

Alves was born on May 6,1983 in Juazeiro, a city in the Brazilian state of Bahia to Domingos Alves da Silva, a farmer. Alves used to play football with the neighboring kids.

His father had a huge passion for football and eventually managed to organize his football team. Alves, at 6, started playing as a winger but not scoring a goal, his father re-positioned him as a right back.

Alves continued playing right back up to this day. He also used to work as a farmer and trader in his youth.

2. Alves is a Brazilian Professional Footballer

He is regarded as one of the best full-backs of his generation, and he is an offensive right-back or wing-back for his pace, technical skills, stamina and overlapping attacking runs.

Alves is good with good crossing accuracy and distribution, which allows him to link up with midfielders and make him an effective assist provider along the right flank. Rivaldo is an accurate striker of the ball and known for his ability to score goals in a particular area or long-range set-pieces.

During his time in Paris Saint-Germain, he occasionally played as a central midfielder. He continued playing a free role in midfield while with Sao Paulo. He explained his desire to play in the middle to have more touches on the ball.

3. He Started his Career in Bahia

Bahia is a Brazilian professional football club based in Salvador. He made his first professional debut in a match against Panara Clube for the 2001 Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A.

While in Bahia, he won the Campeonato Baiano in 2001 and two times the Northeast Cup in 2001 and 2002. His consistent good performance landed him a transfer at first on loan, to Spanish side Sevilla, midway through 2002.

4. Alves Plays for the Brazil National Team

Brazilian footballer Daniel “Dani” Alves da Silva during the Scotland v Brazil international match played in London on 27 March 2011. Photo by Ronnie Macdonald-Wikimedia

In his first debut for Brazil, he played as a substitute in an unofficial friendly match against Kuwaiti club Al-Kuwait Selection in 2006. He received his first international cap in a friendly match against Ecuador.

He has played for the team in Confederations Cup title, World Cup, Copa America, World Cup, Copa America Centenario and Copa America title and 2020 Summer Olympics. At 38, he won a medal in the men’s Olympic football tournament, becoming the oldest footballer ever to win a medal.

5. He Faced Racism Incident During a Game

During a match at Villarreal’s stadium El, Madrigal on April 27, 2014, Alves was targeted by Villarreal supporter David Campaya Lleo who threw a banana at him.

Alves picked the banana, peeled it and took a bite, he also responded to the incident by saying, “We have suffered this in Spain for some time. You have to take it with a dose of humor. We aren’t going to change things easily. If you don’t give it importance, they don’t achieve their objective”.

He stated that whoever threw that banana should be ashamed publicly. On April 30, 2014, a man was arrested in connection with the incident and later, Villarreal was fined for the incident.

6. He was Appointed as a Special Olympic Ambassador

Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disability and physical disabilities. It provides year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.

On September 29, 2011, he was appointed ambassador for Special Olympics. He was representing its Global Football program, charged with promoting respect and inclusion in football for people with intellectual disabilities, particularly in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup.

7. Dan Alves has Received Many Honours Throughout his Career

He is regarded as one of the greatest full-backs of all time and the most honored player in football history, having acquired 46 titles at the senior level and 47 official titles overall.

At the Summer Olympics in 2020, he won a gold medal, was named in the IFFHS CONMEBOL Team of the Decade(2011-2020), the Copa America Best Player (2019), La Liga Team of the Season (2014-2015), UEFA Cup Most Valuable Player(2005-2006) amongst many other awards and honours.

8. He is Currently a Player at Liga MX UNAM

UNAM is referred to as Club Universidad Nacional, A.C is a football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico.

On July 23, 2022, Alves signed a one-year contract with Liga MX UNAM, playing as a right-back.

9. Alves has Played for Many Clubs Throughout his Football Career

Photo by elemaki-Wikimedia

He started his professional career at Bahia in 2001, he made 25 appearances and scored two goals, he was then transferred to Sevilla on loan he played from 2003 to 2007. At Sevilla, Alves career reached its peak and became successful.

On July 2, 2008, he joined Barcelona. He played in Barcelona from 2008-2016, appearing in 247 matches and scoring 14 goals. In 2021 he returned to Barcelona and played for the 2021-2022 season.

Juventus announced the signing of Alves on a two-year deal with an option of a third year on June 27, 2016, and made his first debut in Juventus on August 20, 2016, in a 2-1 home win over Fiorentina in Serie A. on June 29, 2017, his contract in Juventus was terminated by mutual consent.

On July 27, 2017, he joined French side Pris Saint-German on a free transfer, signing a two-year contract. After his contract expired, he was signed to Sa Paulo on August 1, 2019, until December 2022.

On September 10, 2021, Alves, through his representatives, announced he would be returning to Sao Paulo following a dispute over unpaid image rights and his contract was terminated six days later. He then signed a one-year contract with Liga MX club UNAM on July 23, 2022.

10. He was Appointed Council Member of the Earthshot Prize

In 2021 he was appointed to an Earthshot Prize council, an initiative led by Prince William Duke of Cambridge.