Born on May 6, 1983 in Juazeiro (the Brazilian state of Bahia), Daniel Alves started out playing at youth level for the biggest club in the region, Esporte Clube Bahia. He progressed through the ranks, and was just 18 when he played his first game in the Brazilian Serie A, under management at the time of former Barça man Evaristo de Macedo.
Bahia beat Paraná 3-0 that day, and Alves impressed from the outset. He was brought down for a penalty and also supplied an assist, leading the home fans to start chanting “Ah, ah, ah, Daniel titular”.
Alves’ first professional title was the Bahia Championship in 2001 followed by the Northeast Cup in 2001 and 2002. This led to a call-up for the Brazilian Under 20 team in January 2003. Sevilla had their eye on him, and brought him to Europe on loan.
Pleased with his performances, the Andalusian outfit soon acquired permanent rights to the player. In late 2003, Alves was in the Brazilian U20 team that won the World Cup in the UAE, beating Spain and Andrés Iniesta 1-0 in the final. Alves was named best full back in the competition.
That same 2003/04 season, Alves played 29 times at right back for Sevilla, helping his season to win a European berth.
As time went by, Alves consolidated his role as both a defender and part of the attack in the Sevilla team that in 2005/06 won the UEFA Cup. The Brazilian was named best player in that competition, and a few months later, won the Super Cup as his side beat FC Barcelona in Monaco.
In 2006/07, the Brazilian formed an essential part of the Sevilla team that went on to also retain the UEFA Cup, win the European Supercup and also collect the Copa del Rey.
A year before joining Barça, Alves won the Spanish Super Cup by beating Madrid and also gained his first Champions League experience. Sevilla went out in the second round to Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In that 2007/08 season, Alves played 33 league games and was the second most used player in the squad after Navas.
Now considered one of the best full backs in the world, Alves came to Barça in the summer of 2008. In his first season, he was involved in the incredible treble winning campaign. He missed very few games, but one of those was the Champions League final in Rome. By now he was fully consolidated as one of the finest examples the tradition of Brazilian wing backs, contributing five goals in his 54 appearances for his club that year.
Despite injury problems he was the first choice right back in his second season, winning his second consecutive league title among other honours. He scored 3 goals in 29 matches and for the second year running was included in the UEFA team of the year.
In his third year at Barça, he won three new titles, the Spanish Supercup, La Liga and the Champions League. And unlike in Rome, this time he did appear at the Wembley final in a year that he also signed an extension to his contract until 2015.
In his fourth year at FCB, he won the European Supercup, the Spanish Supercup and the Copa del Rey, scoring three goals in the six competitions that Barça competed in, and making 52 appearances.
Alves has also been a regular feature in the Brazilian national team since 2006/07. In the summer of 2007, the right back won the Copa America and in 2009 collected a Confederations Cup winners medal. His first World Cup was that played in South Africa in 2012, in which Brazil were knocked out at the quarter final stage by Holland.
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