Alves predicts better Barca

Dani Alves believes Barcelona’s blistering form so far this season is just the beginning and claims they can be even better in 2011.

The defending champions top the La Liga table by two points going into the Spanish winter break and have proven almost unstoppable as they go in search of a third consecutive La Liga title.

After thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-1 in the Catalan derby on Saturday, Brazil full-back Alves insists the best is yet to come.

“This team has no ceiling to its improvement,” Alves said.

“We’ve been showing on the pitch how we’ve got better. We found it hard to finish games off at the start of the season. Now we are on a great run, though we have to keep our feet on the ground.”

“There’s no harm in dreaming and with this team anything is possible. We are on the right track to being able to compete and nothing is going to distract us. With Barca, nothing is impossible.”

“We have to keep up our habits of hard work and humility. Now we have a break coming up and we can fill up our tanks to get through the next six months.”

“It’s down to all of us, both when we attack and we defend. We are all prepared to make a special effort. The squad is an example of how to work together. This is a collective game and we all need each other.”

Before going on a well-earned Christmas break, Barcelona welcome Athletic Bilbao to the Camp Nou for the first leg of their round of 16 match in the Copa del Rey.

“It’s a tough tie,” Alves said.

“There are two games and everything won’t end on Tuesday, there’s still a second game to come and we are just looking to play well.”

Bilbao will be without Spain international and World Cup winner Fernando Llorente – reportedly a target for Real Madrid – but Alves believes their opponents will still pose a considerable threat, even without the highly rated front-man.

“He’s an important and vital player for them, but Bilbao are much more than just him,” he said.