Though Dani Alves was beaten to the Samba Gold Award by Thiago Silva, the Barcelona right-back still enjoyed a successful 2013, though it was tinged with regret. The 7-0 hammering over two legs his side sustained to Bayern Munich last season made me seriously consider whether I should use too many Barcelona stars in my XI, and in the end I decided it would be unfair to overlook Alves. Barca did after all win La Liga last season and reached the Champions League semi-finals, two accomplishments that cannot go unnoticed, while he also helped Brazil to Confederations Cup glory. Luiz Felipe Scolaris A Seleção have conceded just six goals in their last 13 games and that is down to Alves and national teammate Thiago Silva, who have consistently been two of the world's best defenders in recent times.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
