Bosnia And Herzegovina
Czech Republic
Hungary
Indonesia
South Africa
South Korea
United Arab Emirates

Dani Alves sets Barcelona record and produces sublime assist in Granada draw

mirror.co.uk, 8 January 2022, 21:59
Dani Alves has replaced his former team-mate Jose Manuel Pinto as Barcelona's oldest La Liga player after starting his team's 1-1 draw against Granada on Saturday

Dani Alves became Barcelona's oldest La Liga player during their 1-1 draw against Granada on Saturday evening.

The Brazilian re-joined the cash-strapped club in November but was ineligible to play competitively until this month.

He made his second debut on Wednesday - starting the Copa del Rey victory against minnows Linares Deportivo - but Saturday's outing was his first appearance in La Liga since his return.

Alves started the game at right-back and produced the assist for Luuk de Jong's opener with a delicious cross in the 57th minute.

The visitors failed to hold on to their lead, as Antonio Puertas took advantage of Gavi's red card to equalise one minute from time.

Can Barcelona qualify for the Champions League this season? Let us know in the comments below!

The result leaves Barcelona sixth in La Liga, one point behind Real Sociedad in fourth. Granada, meanwhile, sit in 12th.

Alves, who originally played for the Catalan giants between 2008 and 2016, is 38 years and 247 days old.

The previous record holder was goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto, who represented Barcelona between 2008 and 2014 as back-up to Victor Valdes.

Pinto was 38 years and 188 days old when he last played for Barcelona in their La Liga title decider against Atletico Madrid in May 2014.

Alves reached another milestone during his cup appearance on Wednesday, playing his 1,000th professional game for club and country.

"I see Dani very well, he is a spectacular player with great intensity," said Barcelona manager Xavi on Tuesday.

"He has a tremendous competitive pace and he is a great professional. We need his passes, his runs, his talent."

Speaking after the game, Alves said: "It is a very special day for everything, for coming back, for reliving moments in La Liga and in the Copa del Rey.

"This has been magical as we have made a great effort to come back for the result.

"We must learn to compete and fight until the last moment, because you need to be a team who can fight if you are to win anything."

It's unclear what role Alves will play at Barcelona, although it appears he'll be a regular for Xavi after starting two games in the space of a few days.

The three-time Champions League winner played at right-back against Granada but found himself in a more advanced role in the cup.

"Xavi put together a plan to have more of the ball and more output, so I am playing between a full-back and the midfield, filling spaces," explained Alves on Wednesday.

"It is a position that I dominate, having such quality players by my side makes things easier."

Barcelona's next game is against bitter rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final on Wednesday evening.

The mini-tournament will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and will welcome four teams for the third consecutive year.

Barcelona will face the winner of Atletico Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao in the final on Sunday, January 16 if they beat Real.

Top News

16 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal cult hero Luis Boa Morte and Middlesbrough legend George Boateng are both set to be interviewed by Blackburn, talkSPORT understands. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk With a Champions League last-16 tie against either Barcelona or Liverpool on the line, Benfica and Monaco reconvene for the second leg of their playoff battle on Tuesday night at the Estadio da Luz. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City will be aiming to overturn a first-leg deficit when they head to Spain on Wednesday for the second leg of their Champions League knockout round playoff with Real Madrid. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to book their spot in the knockout round of the Champions League when they welcome Manchester City to Bernabeu for the second leg of their playoff clash on Wednesday night. 16 February 2025 talksport.com The Premier League has two mouthwatering games on Sunday and talkSPORT has all the latest. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Taking a slender lead to San Siro, Feyenoord endeavour to finish the job on AC Milan when they reconvene for Tuesday's Champions League playoff second leg. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United centre-back Lisandro Martinez has confirmed that he has undergone surgery on the severe knee injury that he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Marcus Rashford is reportedly still hopeful of completing a 'dream switch' to Barcelona during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly prepared to make a €150m (£125m) move for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez during this summer's transfer window. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk All transfer business is done and dusted for this season, but that doesn't stop clubs from preparing ahead for next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hatayspor vs. Alanyaspor (Sunday, 10.30am) Round 24 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig campaign pits relegation candidates Hatayspor against mid-table Alanyaspor at the Mersin Stadyumu on Sunday evening. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Nijmegen vs. Almere City (Sunday, 11.15am) Aiming to make it back-to-back wins and move closer to escaping the foot of the Eredivisie table, Almere City will travel to the Goffertstadion on Sunday to take on NEC. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Espanyol vs. Athletic Bilbao (Sunday, 1.00pm) Athletic Bilbao will be aiming to stretch their unbeaten run in La Liga to 15 matches when they head to Espanyol on Sunday. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Fiorentina vs. Como (Sunday, 11.30am) Top-four contenders Fiorentina will aim to boost their hopes of European qualification on Sunday, as they welcome Serie A strugglers Como to Stadio Franchi. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Werder Bremen vs. Hoffenheim (Sunday, 2.30pm) European hopefuls Werder Bremen will welcome relegation-threatened Hoffenheim to Weserstadion on Sunday in their 22nd Bundesliga game of the season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Montpellier vs. Lyon (Sunday, 2.00pm) Looking to give their survival hopes a major boost, Montpellier HSC will welcome Champions League-chasing Lyon to Stade de la Mosson-Mondial 98 on Sunday afternoon for a Ligue 1 battle. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Hearts vs. Rangers (Sunday, 12.00pm) Hearts host Rangers in the Scottish Premiership this weekend, hoping to boost their chances of qualifying for European football next season. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool vs. Wolves (Sunday, 2.00pm) With or without Arne Slot on the touchline, Liverpool's pursuit of Premier League stardom when Wolverhampton Wanderers stop over at Anfield on Sunday afternoon. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool could face a difficult test at Anfield on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will have to show improvements from last time out, Reds expert David Lynch has argued. 16 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United attacker Amad Diallo took to Instagram and confirmed he is set to be sidelined for some time after suffering an injury in training. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate has hinted that he would be happy to stay at Anfield despite interest from Paris Saint-Germain. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool have reportedly accepted that goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher will leave in the summer transfer window, and are said to be willing to do business for a fee of £30-40m. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk The primary job of a goalkeeper is to keep the ball out of the back of their own net, but there are times, especially in the modern era, where we see some shot-stoppers contributing to goals at the right end of the pitch. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Arsenal might be struggling for strikers but one former wonderkid is loving life away from north London. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal should not give any thought to signing an "out of shape" free agent to solve their attacking shortage, Gunners expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Xabi Alonso continues to haunt his former employers Bayern Munich. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Despite being by far the better side, Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich at BayArena on Saturday in an anticlimactic six pointer in the Bundesliga title race. 15 February 2025 talksport.com Aaron Lennon believes Tottenham's clash against Manchester United could be a preview of the Europa League final. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Everton won their fourth Premier League match in five as they beat hosts Crystal Palace 2-1 at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening. 15 February 2025 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick could make two changes to his XI for Monday's La Liga contest with Rayo Vallecano.
there is nothing here yet