“Off the pitch, I am a tranquil and relaxed person and it takes a lot to get me angry,” Barcelona’s Daniel Alves said of his personality.
“I always try to work things out sensibly, with tact and diplomacy, but when I go on the pitch I change because I am passionate about what I do.”
There have been times this year when Alves’s diplomatic skills have been needed.
Out of contract at the end of this season, the Brazilian right-back wants a new three-year deal at Camp Nou, which will take him up to his 35th birthday.
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He also wants to move up from the third tier in Barca’s pay structure to the second level alongside the likes of teammates Neymar, Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Luis Suarez. Only one player, Lionel Messi, occupies the first.
Barca rarely give players over 30 long contracts but their hands are tied it seems.
On the one hand, they do not see Alves as a long-term fixture, nor do they consider him the player they signed from Sevilla for €35.5 million (Dh137.6m) in 2008, a world record fee for a full-back at the time.
At his best, between 2009-2012, Alves was a one-man right wing who would push up so high he won the ball back from opposing defenders.
His crossing may have been a weak point, but he was perfect for Barca and he has won 16 trophies with the team.
Alves, though, is past his best and has not made Dunga’s recent Brazil squads.
A transfer ban means Barcelona are unable to sign a replacement until 2016 and there is a shortage of top-class right-backs.
Porto’s Danilo, one of the best emerging players in that position, joined Real Madrid for €30m recently and Juan Cuadrado, another option, joined Chelsea in January from Fiorentina.
That plays into Alves’s hands and he has been involved in a stand off with his club all season.
He has not spoken to the media since November and reacted to journalists who approached him recently at Barcelona airport by taking one of their microphones and singing into it. Sadly for them, the lyrics were not about his future plans.
Alves’s agent, Dinorah Santana, his ex-wife, had led negotiations and for a long time she claimed that she had no contact from Barca officials.
But the issue has become pressing and she held a news conference last week where she talked of some progress made between the two camps.
The Alves situation could become a moot point tonight as Barca will play the first leg of their Uefa Champions League quarter-final away at Paris Saint-Germain without him.
Injured and suspended, Barca coach Luis Enrique has realised how much the team rely on him, given there is no better alternative.
Douglas, his compatriot brought in last August before Fifa’s two-window transfer ban was enforced, is considered not good enough for the first team and was a factor in sporting director Andoni Zubizarretta losing his job in January.
The Spaniard Martin Montoya, 23, is not considered of sufficient quality as a long-term replacement either.
Barca could play their usual 4-3-3 tonight and deploy Adriano at right back, but it is not his best position. Or they could switch to 3-4-3 and play Javier Mascherano, Gerard Pique, and Jeremy Mathieu or Jordi Alba, as their third defender.
Whatever they do, it is unlikely to be as effective as having Alves marauding up and down the right flank.
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