Juve's Alves expects long night at world's best Barcelona
BARCELONA (Reuters) - Dani Alves believes if Juventus can knock out his former side Barcelona, they will be eliminating the best team in the world from the Champions League.
The Brazilian right back, who moved from the Nou Camp to Turin last year, helped keep former team mate Neymar quiet in the quarter-final first leg on April 11 as Juventus won 3-0 at home.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday ahead of the return, Alves said his side should expect a long night in the Nou Camp and only rated Juventus’s chances of progressing at 60 percent, despite their big lead.
“I think we’ve got a 60-40 chance of qualification, to show due respect, but we know that all games are long at the Nou Camp and it will be tough,” he said.
“We want to score goals, not just think about defending. We intend to hurt Barca and a goal would make a big difference in this tie and be a blow for them.
“If we overcome Barca, and I hope we do, then I think we’ll be eliminating the best team in the world.”
Alves played with the Catalan giants for eight seasons after signing from Sevilla in 2008.
A fans’ favourite, the Brazilian was a key part of Barcelona's success, winning six league titles and three Champions Leagues, although he was not happy in his final two years at the club, feeling the board did not rate him highly enough.
Alves explained that he might go back to Barcelona in the future but only “when things change”.
“It was wonderful here, but I think (if I) came back to Barca many things would need to change, including people’s egos, to recognise the mistakes that were made,” he said
(Reporting by Rik Sharma; Editing by Toby Davis)